


Fallen Angel

by vrskaandrea



Series: AU of AU [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Archangel Dean Winchester, Demon Cure (Supernatural), Doppelganger, Fallen Angel Lucifer, Fatherly Love, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, alternate universes clash, crazy twist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-02-16 17:49:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 58,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18696349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vrskaandrea/pseuds/vrskaandrea
Summary: Sequel to my work - Abomination. When Jack needed someone to help him manage his powers, a mentor, his wish came true. But know that he is stripped of his power, he needs someone to help him manage life as a human, a father figure if you will. And this time we get a not-so-powerful Dean with a twist.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Lucifer](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/478711) by Rae666. 
  * Inspired by [The Falling](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/478714) by Rae666. 



> Author's comment and disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. Some are Supernatural original, others belong to Rae666 and his/her story Lucifer and the sequel Falling. I have the author's permission to use these characters. Like before, you needn't read the background story as I will implement it in this one, explaining everything along the way. But it might be more interesting if you do.
> 
> Also, if you haven't read the prequel to this story called Abomination, I repeat, you needn't. Anything important to this story will be explained along the way. However, I would be nice if you did. LOL
> 
> Thank you all, present and future readers for reading and reviewing the story.

It has been nearly four months since the events involving alternate universes and Jack couldn't help but feel depressed. Cass spent most of his time in Heaven, helping Gabriel keep everything together and keep him from killing his brothers. Michael and Lucifer combined was a nightmare. Both Sam and Dean could confirm that.

Jack was in the kitchen, holding Captain Crunch cereal in one hand, and an apple in the other, deciding what to do. When he had his powers, he ate but not out of necessity, it was more like pleasure. Ever since he gave his grace away, he felt hungry all the time. He had never stopped to consider, or he was too young to do so, but the hunger he was feeling might have been a representation of his feelings.

He could still hear Sam's voice in his head, saying the sugar-filled cereal would rotten his teeth. Jack sighed heavily, looking at that red apple in his right hand still not putting the cereal down. Sam would have wanted him to take the apple. But Sam wasn't there in the kitchen. Sam and Dean spend most of their time researching and following leads and being harassed by his uncle.

Yeah, the boys are still trying to figure out how to separate the two archangels, that shared poor old Nick. His body was rebuilt using the material the cage was made out of, thanks to Crowley and now they were both stuck in it. Not that the boys really want to separate them. Not that it is the end of the world kinda thing. But Michael being on their tail almost every day made them edgy, made them want to end it as soon as possible. And Jack just heard him drop by again.

"Nothing? Still?" Michael asked and Lucifer's face twitched just a bit. He was leaning on the war table, his hands on the edges, his body tense and his expression almost scared. Lucifer thought this house-sharing would make them stronger as brothers again, but all it made them is being at each other's throat. Michael kept Lucifer down under most of the time and holding control like that wore him out, yet still he wouldn't let go, not even for a short while.

That took its toll on him, making him flinch at the smallest sound and twitch from time to time. And when he got really upset, all those emotions would overpower him, weaken him and he would just fall asleep. Then the worst imaginable thing for him would happen. Lucifer would assume control. Not that he ever used Michael's powers, or did anything for that matter, but it still bothered Michael so much, that when he would come to, he would try harder to stay in control. It turned out to be quite a vicious circle.

Like now. Michael got so angry for a moment, he kicked the chair and slid all the books of the table. He looked at the Winchesters with the wild look in his eyes, but meeting their worried looks, he took a deep breath. "You have no idea what it is like to have Lucifer in your head all the time." He said as he picked up the chair he kicked a second ago.

"Right." Sam said rubbing his neck and looking at Dean. Dean looked back and then rolled his eyes. Yeah, Sam knew. Sam knew all too well. He knew even better then Michael did. Michael was lucky. The Lucifer in his head was different than the one Sam remembered. The one that screamed and sang loudly in his head, wouldn't let him eat nor sleep.

Michael took another deep breath, feeling like the weight of the world was on his shoulders and his feet were about to give up on him and he practically threw himself in that chair. He squirmed for a second, and then slumped, his eyes heavy, his breath slow.

"Ne doesn't really mean that." Lucifer said emerging and could only hold his eyes on the boys for a moment before the weight of his sins made him look away. He focused on a splinter in the chair and start picking at it, trying to yank it out. "This is tearing him apart. As funny as that may sound." he added, and cut his finger on the splinter. He quickly put it in his mouth, trying to stop the small bleed.

Dean pulled his chair away from the table and got up. It was evident he had enough. He was clearly tired of this whole game and needed to walk away, just for a little while. "I'm heading out." he said grabbing his jacket and Sam gave him a desperate look. A look that said Don't leave me alone with him. But it was too late. Dean was already out the door, trying to figure out which bar was the closest.

Jack stood in the doorway, observing quietly the whole conversation, not feeling all that hungry anymore. He felt sad and left out when Lucifer smiled at him saying "Hey, kid." followed by Sam's frown and request to leave them, with an excuse that they needed to work. As much as Sam hated being alone with Lucifer, he wasn't going to let Jack anywhere near him.

And Jack was conflicted about it all. Sure, he knew they were only trying to protect him by keeping him out of this, and out of hunts too, since he was almost human now. But pushing him aside, leaving him out of the loop wasn't the answer either. They should have known better.

So when the War room or the library was occupied, like it was now, Jack would retreat to the archives or what he called "The treasure room". It was actually storage for all those dangerous and cursed objects that the Men of Letters and the boys collected over the years. Naturally, Jack knew not to touch them or open the cases that had warning labels, sigils or warding on them. He would take a look; inspect the items through the cases they were in, read case files related to those items.

He was yet to check out the cabinet that was labelled "Small cursed objects". He approached the cabinet curiously and opened the top drawer. And as he did a small pearl rolled to the front of the drawer. He was smart enough not to touch it straight away. Instead he looked around the drawer, removing all the packaged items, trying to find an empty wrapper. His eyes were constantly drawn to the pearl, and for a second, he remembered a picture of his mother he had in his room. In it she was wearing a pearl necklace, smiling brightly and he just couldn't walk away from it.

When he found no container that was empty, he eyed the pearl and taking a deep breath, he picked it up. He sighed in relief when nothing happened and brought it closer, inspecting it. Just a regular ivory coloured pearl, but he liked it. He flinched when he heard Sam calling him and he pocketed the pearl, deciding to keep it. He quickly shut the drawer and exited the room, switching off the lights on his way out. And just before the room turned to complete darkness, a small plastic bag containing one small piece of parchment with a Chinese symbol on it, fell behind the drawer, trapped inside the cabinet forever.

Jack walked back into the War room only to find Sam all alone, and probably happy it was so. "Lucif... Michael took off, probably back to Heaven. – Sam stated with clear relief in his voice – I am heading out. Just spoke to Jody; she still has some of Bobby's old books. Maybe there's something in there."

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" Jack asked with a child-like innocence. Like a kid asking his father why can't he come to his baseball game, not understanding his father's constant need for being wrapped up in work. Planes to catch and bills to pay, you know?

" I want to finish this as soon as possible – Sam said, clearly feeling tired, being pushed by Michael constantly – Just... I just need to get this over with, ok? You understand, right?" Reluctantly, Jack nodded, not wanting to burden Sam with his feelings when he already had enough on his plate. "Great. You'll be fine here by yourself? Dean should be back soon... I hope." Sam said as he threw his duffle bag over his shoulder and picked up his jacket.

He gave Jack a small smile and walked away to the staircase. Jack didn't even know his hand was in his pocket, holding the pearl tight as if it could provide some comfort, and he watched Sam leave. With a heavy sigh, Jack turned around and headed for the kitchen. He felt hungry again and he was about to stuff himself with Captain Crunch cereal.

Later that night, Jack was sitting on the edge of his bed, unable to sleep. Unable to even lie down and try. He got up when he heard the front door open and peeked out of his room. Dean passed by, clearly drunk, unable to walk a straight line. He just smiled at the kid as he walked by, headed to his room. Jack pulled on a fake smile for Dean and went to sit on the edge of the bed once again. He held the pearl in his hand and played with it, remembering his mother, or what he knew of her. He vaguely remembered the sound of her voice saying he was meant to do great things. It certainly didn't feel like that now.

He looked at the picture of her on his nightstand and her smile seemed like it was directed to him, but it gave him no comfort. He remembered watching the video of her, telling him Cass would look after him, be there for him. And he wasn't. Not right now. He was in Heaven, using his grace as a battery, trying hard to keep it from falling to Earth, sending billions of souls to wonder around causing havoc.

He caught himself sighing heavily again, noticing he's been doing that a lot lately. A small sparkle caught his eye and he looked out of the high window at the starry night, just in time to see a falling star. He smiled having seen that for the first time in his life, but felt lonely. He had no one to share it with. And he wanted someone. He needed someone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean woke with a heavy headache. He threw off the pillow that was over his head and sat up. Running a hand over his face, he stated "Remind me not to drink ever again." and only then noticed he was actually saying it to *Sam. What was *Sam doing in his room?

He blinked a couple of times when *Sam replied "Yeah. Like that's ever gonna happen." There was something not right about this picture. Dean took a look around, still sitting on the edge of his bed. Why the hell were they in a motel room? Did Dean miss something? Did he drink so much he lost memory of the past few days?

"You feeling ok, Dean?" *Sam asked sitting in the chair and putting his boots on. To him, Dean looked a bit out of place, like he had a nightmare or something.

"Yeah. – Dean replied thinking he would figure this out later – Must have drank myself to amnesia." Right now, he needed a hot shower, to wash away the stench of alcohol and whatever bar he was in. When he meet Sam's worried gaze, he shook his hand off and added "I'm fine. Really."

"You sure? It's not him, is it? It's... It's not Lucifer?" *Sam asked, concern and slight fear in his eyes.

"Lucifer? – Dean asked frowning at his brother – Why would I be dreaming about him?" He asked, guessing that is what *Sam meant. But then he rolled his eyes, guessing wrongly again "Oh, you mean the whole separation thing? Yeah, sure, it is all one big pain in the ass, if you ask me, but what can we do? It's not like we could just walk away." Dean spoke while ransacking his bag, looking for clean clothes.

He picked up some and headed towards the bathroom finishing that statement and froze at the door when *Sam asked seriously "What separation thing?"

"Dean, what are you talking about?" *Sam added getting up, standing straight like on high alert and Dean turned to face him. Something was off. Something was definitely off.

"What do you mean what I'm talking about? I'm talking about separating Michael and Lucifer, the thing we have been trying to do for the last couple of months." Dean said, sounding nonchalant, but still observing carefully *Sam's reaction.

"Michael? Who the heck is Michael? Are you sure you are alright, Dean? Maybe someone put something in your drink?" *Sam asked almost hopefully. It was a long time since his brother even mentioned Lucifer, a long time since they had an incident involving him and he knew his brother didn't like to talk about him. But this Dean that stood before him spoke of Lucifer like... Like he was someone else.*Sam couldn't even explain it. And he really hoped his brother wasn't loosing it, or succumbing again.

And the words out of *Sam's mouth hit Dean hard. He was confused for a moment, not sure if he was dreaming, or did someone actually put something in his drink. He looked at *Sam, hoping his brother was just messing with him, but the worried look on *Sam's face told him something else was going on. So he looked over the room once again, making sure it was in fact a motel room, and then walked back to his bed.

He sat down and hid his face in his hands for a moment, wishing this was a dream. His hands ran across his face and he took a deep breath. Sighing heavily, he looked back at *Sam and asked "Tell me one thing. Just one thing, and then I'll explain everything. – and when *Sam nodded, he proceeded – where is Lucifer now?" Dean made an educated guess based on his past experience.

Every world they visited had something to do with a Lucifer. Whether it was the world where Michael won the apocalypse and killed Lucifer, or the one where Lucifer defended a nephilims existence, eventually becoming the Ruler of Heaven, it could all be brought back to the moment when he was released from the cage.

Little did Dean know, in this world *Lucifer was never in the cage.

"What do you mean, where is he now?" *Sam asked with a very confused expression, frowning at Dean. "He is where his been our entire lives." And the next line cut right through Dean, sending shivers down his spine, making him think he's about to pass out.

"He is in you."


	2. Chapter 2

"What do you mean he's in me?" Dean asked with disbelief. He figured by now, he wasn't in his world. But what about this world *Dean? Was his counterpart possessed? Was his double in this world a perfect vessel for another archangel? And *Sam's reply wasn't helpful at all.

"What do you mean, what do I mean?" *Sam asked glaring back, confused as hell. Has his brother finally lost it? Was all that stress of the job getting to him? Maybe it was Lucifer? Maybe there was something wrong. And like that, that confused look morphed into a really worried one. "Dean..." he started, clear concern in his voice.

But Dean put his hand up, stopping him from finishing that though. "I'm fine." He said, wondering how he was going to explain to the guy in front of him that he wasn't really his brother. "You know what? Let's pretend for a moment I don't remember anything, like I have amnesia or something... – and he rolled his eyes as *Sam clearly grew more concerned – Just... Fill me in on everything that happened. And then I'll explain. I promise."

With one brow up, *Sam stared at him for a moment, but then sighed. He knew he better do as his brother asked if he wanted to know what was going on with him. And if Dean promised he would explain, he would. "Where would you like me to start?" *Sam asked defeated.

"From the top. How did mom and dad die?" Dean asked and *Sam frowned. He couldn't understand how Dean remembered the fact that they died, but not how. And Dean rolled his hand, telling *Sam to move from the surprised stage to the giving-information stage.

"A demon..." *Sam started and Dean finished "Ok, so Azazel killed her. Check. Then lemme guess. Dad got into the life of the hunters and dragged us in it, right?" *Sam nodded looking confused, but Dean ignored him and continued, wanting to move things along "Did you go to Stanford?"

And *Sam flinched just a bit at the mention of that part of his life, but nodded. Dean noticed that and quickly moved on "And I got you and we went to find dad. And we eventually did, and he died, and then we killed Azazel, right?"

"Um... Yeah. But aren't you forgetting something?" *Sam asked, not sure if Dean was purposely omitting Lucifer from the conversation. Or did he indeed forget.

But Dean knew by *Sam's reaction there must have been more to that part of their lives. "Tell me what I'm forgetting." Dean stated seriously and *Sam frowned at him again. He gazed into Dean's eyes, thinking for a moment, and then shifted a bit in his seat. He looked at Dean again, and replied warily "Lucifer. You're forgetting Lucifer."

Lucifer? He wasn't supposed to be in the picture just yet. OK, so that's the turning point. Dean thought and responded" Tell me about Lucifer."

*Sam still felt unsure about it all. He didn't understand why his brother wasn't remembering the fallen angel, and he was worried that bringing him up again would just send his brother to that I-hate-my-life stage. But he needed to know what was going on. He didn't want to stall anymore.

"After we encountered our first hellhound, you started having those dreams, remember? – and it was clear to *Sam, Dean didn't remember that, but Dean's hand gesture told him to move on, so he did – The dreams that sent you into shock, but every time you woke up fine."

"And we went to Missouri. She called her psychic friend... Ashlyn. She went in your dreams... And she found him there." Sam said looking away. He didn't want to see the look on Dean's face, if he really didn't remember.

"Found who?" Dean asked and his eyes widened in confusion when *Sam replied "Lucifer."

Dean's eyes darted the ground beneath him, thinking about what *Sam just said, trying to place the information. When his eyes met *Sam's again, he said "And why was Lucifer there?" *Sam took a deep breath, but didn't respond. Dean waited, but he wasn't really known for his patience.

"Alright, let's cut the crap. Answer me." Dean demanded and *Sam gulped. "He was always there Dean. He fell and was reborn as human. As you."

And Dean's vision went a bit blurry, and he had to close his eyes. He ran his hand over his face and hoping when he opened his eyes again, he would realize he was dreaming. But everything remained the same and Dean felt those worried eyes on him. This was just a bit too much. "I... I need some air." he said and went for the door.

But as soon as he opened them, a dog, a German Sheppard growled at him angrily. He started barking loudly, threatening to take tear him apart, and Dean had to take a step back. He gasped when the dogs eyes went red, perfectly showing off the hellhound anger and he took one more step back. He moved his head in *Sam's direction and still keeping his eyes on the angry beast in front of him, he called out "SAM!"

And *Sam ran out and almost hissed at the dog. "Ripper. Stop. Sit. – and the dog calmed down just a bit, still glaring at Dean – What has gotten into you?" He asked petting the dog and Dean had to blink a couple of times, just to make sure he was seeing this right.

"You have a hellhound for a pet?" Dean asked still in shock and *Sam frowned at him and then at Ripper, who wouldn't stop growling.

"No - *Sam stated – He's your dog."

And Dean clenched his lips tight, nodding in disbelief. "Yeah. Yup. I have a pet hellhound. Sure. Why the hell not?" and he couldn't believe the crazy situation he found himself in. He couldn't believe the craze of this world, the lack of any sense.

"Dean? - *Sam said following Dean back inside the room and shutting the door, leaving Ripper behind – Mind explaining all this? Why is Ripper acting like you're a stranger? And why do you remember everything but Lucifer?" He gazed at Dean's back, and Dean didn't know what to tell him, how to explain.

With a heavy sigh, he turned to *Sam, rubbing the back of his neck "You're a smart guy, right? – and Dean paused like he was waiting for *Sam to actually answer that – Um... You know about parallel universes?"

*Sam tilted his head, and it reminded Dean of Cass and the look on his face when he didn't understand. But *Sam did understand what Dean was asking, he just wasn't sure why would his brother be asking him that. "Well, sure, in Einstein's theory of relativity..." he started but Dean cut him off.

"Yeah. Not a theory." Dean said and threw himself on his bed, feeling just a bit tired from all this supernatural crap that was constantly happening. I mean, first a nephilim opens one rift, trapping mom in a burnt down world. Then he opened another, brining in a nephilim version of his brother, and then... Dean lost count of how many times he had crossed the rift, how many times a rift was actually opened. He has yet to realize, there was no rift this time.

Dean got yanked back to reality when *Sam asked "Dean...Why would you say that?"

Dean glared at him with a slightly apologetic look and answered "Cuz I'm not your brother, Sam. – and before *Sam could react to that, Dean continued – I am Dean Winchester. Just not of this world."

And for the next couple of hours Dean explained almost everything, and *Sam listened carefully. When Dean finished, *Sam only had one question. "If you are here, then... Where is my brother?"

And Dean's eyes widen as the realization hit him and he was only able to let out "Oh, crap."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Dean woke up and cleaned the drool of his face with his sleeve. It has been a long time since he slept that well and he was still hazy from the sleep. He got up, leaving the sheets to fall to the ground and he stretched his arms wide. Rubbing his stomach, he yawned and leaned into his night stand to check the time. "10:30? Why didn't you wake me?" he asked, but there was no response.

*Dean still didn't look up from his phone, frowning at the message Sam had left him. "Went to Jody's. Checking out Bobby's old stack of book for anything. Be in touch" Jody? Who the heck is Jody? And why would she have *Bobby's books? The old paranoid bastard *Dean knew would never part with any of those, *Bobby was known to be a bit of a hoarder when it came to lore books. He had copies of all of them. *Dean even suspected *Bobby had copies of the copies, but he never found proof.

So *Dean just rolled his eyes, thinking he'll give his brother a call after a hot shower. He needed one, to wash away the stench of alcohol and whatever bar he was in. He looked around the room for his duffle-bag, and finally found it under the bed. Empty. Why the hell was it empty? He looked around the room, not clearly remembering the motel room looking so dark, and he frowned seeing some of his stuff scattered around on the walls and shelves, like they were on display. All of that stuff should be in the trunk of the impala, what was it doing here?

He even spotted a few weapons he had never seen before. What is going on? Is *Sam messing with me? But *Sam was not there. In fact, neither was his bed. And they always rent one two-bed room. So, if he wasn't in his motel room, where was he?

*Dean took another look at the room, finding his stuff everywhere, placed as if he was living there, and he was confused as hell. Hell... Maybe I'm dreaming again. Maybe Lucifer is messing outside again, while I'm stuck here in some dream? And worry started to built up. Last time he and Lucifer spoke, the devil practically promised he would remain dormant inside him, sleeping a blissful sleep. So what changed? Was his brother in danger and Lucifer had to emerge to protect him again?

*Dean's heart started pounding faster and faster and he darted the entire room as he considered what might be going on. The only reason Lucifer would emerge is cuz of *Sam. After all, *Sam was practically the reason he was reborn as human. He wouldn't let *Sam become the ultimate demon-boy, whose power would surpass even his own, as *Azazel planned. But he wouldn't kill their mother before *Sam was even conceived, like God ordered him to. For whatever reason, Lucifer had enough and when God offered him the deal, he accepted. He would be reborn as *Sam's big brother, always keeping an eye on the kid.

*Dean always felt like he had to protect *Sam. It wasn't until he was around 25-26 that he learned why that was. But how could he protect him if he was locked away in a dream somewhere? Was it even a dream? *Dean swiftly turned to face the door and glared at it for a second. He wasn't sure if it would even open, little lone what he was going to find behind them.

He slowly approached the door, extending his hand towards the knob, his face giving out fear, curiosity and uncertainty. He gulped, turned the knob and opened the door with one quick motion and all the fear and uncertainty went away. All that it was left was curiosity and confusion as *Dean stared at a kid with dirty blond hair, blue eyes, a weird smile and a hand in the air, ready to knock at the door.

*Dean had to blink a couple of times, seeing as that weird smile was brighter then the sun at this point and Jack awkwardly put his hand down saying "Good morning Dean. Want some breakfast? I tried to make pancakes, but I'm not sure how they turned out..." Jack said sheepishly, looking down on the ground and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Where am I?" *Dean asked a bit threateningly and winced when he felt a jolt in his chest. It was like a part of him didn't want to scare the kid. There was just something in those innocent blue eyes that looked back at him confusingly.

"You're in the bunker, Dean. Don't you remember coming home last night?" Jack asked rather surprised by *Dean's question. The hunter was known to have a drink or two, but it has been a while since he drank himself to oblivion, Jack knew that much. He also knew Dean would do that only if he was hurting, real bad, and there was nothing to be hurt about.

"Home?" *Dean asked looking out at the hallway both ways before turning his attention to the kid. Something just felt off about him, but *Dean couldn't quite understand. Something from inside of him was screaming at him, like alarms going off in his head. He glared at Jack for a moment, then asked "Who are you?"

Jack smiled awkwardly at his question, not really sure what was going on with his friend. "What do you mean? It's me, Dean... It's Jack." And as *Dean took a firm step forward, Jack took a weary step back. *Dean's head was pounding hard and he asked again "Who are you?"

"It's me, Jack. – he said with slight fear in his eyes – Don't you remember me? I... I'm your friend..." And he had to take another step back, the look in *Dean's eyes was seriously starting to scare him. He knew Dean to have a temper sometimes, but this wasn't that. Jack figured by now something else was going on, he just didn't know what.

"Who... – and *Dean's frown deepened, taking a step closer to the kid made his entire body shiver – WHO ARE YOU?!"*Dean yelled out, trying to outshout the screams in his head. He took one more step, and Jack backed away. But there was nowhere left to go as he reached the wall, slamming his back against it.

"Who... NO! WHAT ARE YOU?!" *Dean screamed in Jack's face, grabbing him by the colar of his shirt and the poor kid was trembling with fear, he didn't know what *Dean was asking him. What response did he want to hear?

"I... I'm Jack. – he said, his voice shaking – I'm your friend, almost like a son. I... My mom was Kelly Kline... I... I'm a nephilim. I was a nephilim. I... I'm almost human now." Jack said all that in one breath, his eyes filled with tears, hoping somewhere along the line, he said the right thing.

"A... A nephilim - *Dean asked averting his eyes for a second as if he was processing the information – A... a half angel, half human? Who..." And *Dean brought his gaze back to the kid, his eyes less angry, more curious and slightly fearful of the answer. "Who is your father? Your real father?"

And Jack gasped at the question for some unknown reason, but replied with all kinds of emotions in his voice.

"Lucifer."


	3. Chapter 3

*Dean stumbled backwards, his eyes wide, the name echoing in his head. He kept his glare on the kid, hoping he misunderstood him, but the voice inside him just wouldn't let go. And poor Jack, seeing *Dean's reaction only made him feel rejected, unwanted and a thing to be feared. His heart ached seeing *Dean looking at him fearfully and he just had to do something about it.

"It's ok. I... I'm nothing like him." Jack said and it only made *Dean frown at him. That look cut through Jack once again, his expression sad and his lower lip trembling as he asked "Why... Why don't you remember me, Dean?"

"I... I don't know." *Dean replied honestly and the voice in his head toned down, leaving *Dean confused as hell. "Where am I?" he asked again, the anger and fear directed at Jack gone from his eyes.

"The bunker – Jack stated again – this is your home. Our home." And when he saw that information meant nothing to *Dean, his eyes wrapped in worry and he asked "Are you alright, Dean? Maybe... Maybe I should call Sam." *Dean flinched at them mention of his brother's name, and Jack saw that, saw the worry in *Dean's eyes, so he assured him "Sam is fine. He just went over to sheriff Mills." And there it was again. The *Dean in front of him had no idea who Jack was talking about.

But this time, instead of letting someone else take on the task at hand, instead of letting himself being pushed out of the way, he would try and sort this out. On his own. So he extended his hand, and even after *Dean flinched at the touch, he still set his hand on *Dean's arm, in his eyes a look that said We'll-figure-this-out. "Let's... Um... Let's go to the kitchen and sit down. I... I know you don't do the heavy lifting before you had your morning coffee." Jack said with a shy smile on his face, and *Dean just nodded.

*Dean looked mesmerised as Jack dragged him through the War room and he was only able to glace at the library. He just couldn't believe they had a place as awesome as this to call home. Home. That word echoed strangely in *Dean's head. The only home he ever had was *Sam, baby and the open road, the only home he thought he needed.

"It's right through here." Jack said glancing over *Dean for a second before they walked into the kitchen. A fully stocked, fully operational kitchen, with cupboards, sink, fridge, counter, everything. Even a table with four chairs meant for small meals and snacks. *Dean didn't see anything like that since... Well, since *Bobby's. A small sigh escaped *Dean as he remembered his old friend. Long time ago, his surrogate father perished in the fire that consumed his house, all thanks to some vamps. And boy, did they find a wrong hunter to mess with. *Dean had disposed of them slowly and painfully.

"I... I tried to make pancakes, but they just kept turning into a moosh." Jack interrupted *Dean's thoughts and he looked at the counter next to the stove. As Jack took out a cup and poured *Dean some coffee, *Dean picked up the spoon, brought it high above the bowl and poured the pancake mix back in the bowl. "It... it needs more flower." He stated and he didn't even know why he was bothering with pancakes, when there were more important things to do.

Jack handed him the cup, and opened one of the lower cupboards. He pulled out the flower and *Dean pulled the coffee cup up to his mouth, the smell filling his nostrils, the flavour dancing on his tongue, but he kept his eyes on the kid. When he saw Jack pouring flower into the mix, he swiftly placed the cup on the counter, and made Jack flinch when he said "STOP!"

*Dean grabbed the flower from Jack's hands and said "If you keep that up, we'll eat only flower. You have to put just a little, and mix it the entire time." and he showed Jack just how to do that. When Jack smiled brightly at the first batch that turned out just right, *Dean only then realized what he was doing. Why was he making pancakes, when he was in a strange place, with a kid he never met before?

Jack sat down, setting the pancakes on the table and gestured *Dean to take a seat. A part of *Dean wanted to scream out, ask what the hell is going on, but instead he found himself sitting opposite the kid and actually enjoying the breakfast. It must have been all his doing, *Dean was sure of it. And how couldn't it be? The kid before him claimed to be the son of Lucifer, and as much as *Dean would be suspicious; the angel inside him seemed to know it was true. Whether he could feel it, or whatever, *Dean didn't care. The only thing he cared about right now was one thing. Finding out what was going on.

Jack was half way though his breakfast when he looked up and saw *Dean was staring at him. He gulped and asked shyly "You... You still don't remember?" *Dean put the fork down, his breakfast half finished as well, but he never broke eye contact. He didn't look angry, nor confused, he just seemed curious.

"Lemme tell you what I do remember. I remember dropping my brother off in front of our motel room last night and then heading to a nearby bar. Now, I know I didn't have that much to drink, and I sure remember coming back to the motel room and crashing on my bed. So, either this is a dream, or I'm hallucinating something, or... Or something else, something supernatural happened. And right now, it seems like it is option three." *Dean said calmly, awaiting for Jack's reaction.

He didn't expect Jack's eyes to go wide, for his face to get covered in confusion and slight fear. And he didn't expect Jack to say the following "No...No, no, no... Not possible... I... No, I'm not strong enough... I couldn't... I can't... Last night..."

"Hey, hey - *Dean stood up, approached Jack and crouched by his side, slightly worried about the kid – Calm down. Calm down. It's ok. Just... Just tell me what happened..." And Jack hid his face in his hands, his fingers massaging his eye lids, and then finally he brought his hands up to his forehead, supporting his head. He couldn't even look at *Dean.

"I... I don't even know where to begin." he said, and *Dean could hear the guilt in his voice. He set a comforting hand on Jack's shoulder and Jack finally looked up at him. *Dean frowned when he saw tears in the kid's eyes, and for some reason all he wanted was to hug him and make those tears go away.

"This... This isn't your world, is it?" Jack asked, his voice trembling again, and the only thing *Dean could do was watch with his mouth opened as one tear ran down Jack's face. He was astounded when he saw Jack wipe it away and suck up, determination suddenly written on his face. "I did this. I... I don't know how, but I know I did."

"What did you do?" *Dean asked not raising his voice, there was more concern there than anything else. He watched the kid stand up and he followed the motion. Jack stood facing *Dean, facing the consequences of his wish, and took a deep breath.

"I brought you here. From your world. Last night, I... I made a wish upon a falling star, and that must have... Those wishes weren't supposed to come true, right? But here you are, sitting and having breakfast with me... I... I'm sorry. I'll... I'll find a way to send you back, I promise."

*Dean broke his gaze, looking down, trying hard to put it all together. Ok, so he was in another world. No biggy, right? He was in worse situations then this. He is going to find a way back. They are going to find a way. And then *Dean looked up at Jack, slight concern in his eyes and he asked "If I'm here, where is the Dean you know?"

Jack went pale at this question, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open, and *Dean knew. His counterpart was back in his world. "Alright, alright, we'll fix this. You're Dean will be fine." Just hope he doesn't piss Ripper off. "If he is a good hunter, he'll be fine. If not, Sam will have his back."

Jack finally took a breath, nodding. "Yeah. He'll be fine. He was in worse situations before. – Jack tried to reassure himself - He... He fought off Hell and Heaven and God's master plan... Yeah, he... He'll be alright." Jack's eyes met the frowning gaze of *Dean's eyes and he knew. He had some explaining to do.

After a couple of hours, two coffee cups and a beer, and of course, the breakfast finished, *Dean knew all that happened in this world and other worlds they encountered. He though he had it bad, with Lucifer dormant inside of him, but hearing what this Sam and Dean went through, he was blown away. "Yeah. Your Dean will definitely be fine. – he said confidently, but then looked at Jack with a somewhat pleading expression – But we can't tell your Sam about this. With all that he went through and all that is going on right now..."

*Dean sighed. No matter what, Sam was still Sam. And he would protect any version of his brother, even from himself. And when Jack gave him a confused look, he knew he had to explain it to the kid.

"Back in my world, things went down a bit differently... -*Dean started – There was no apocalypse, for one. We never met any of the angels you mentioned, only the demons. And we took them down, all of them. But they had a different reason for going after us... You see kid, in our world; Lucifer was never in the cage, so they didn't need to release him... He... He fell and was reborn as human."

Of course, Jack's first thought was *Sam. He was Lucifer's true vessel, it would make sense. What didn't make sense were the words that came out of *Dean's mouth. *Dean huffed a smile before he spoke, running his hand through his hair.

"Guess I know now why you brought me here. – and he huffed another awkward smile at the kid, not sure how Jack would take the news – When Lucifer fell and was reborn, he... He was reborn as me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jody and Sam sat at the table in her home, going through Bobby's old dusted books. With every page turn, Sam would cough the dust out of his lungs and he would squint his eyes at the faded text. His eyes hurt, and he only hoped it was because he was tired and the texts were faded, not because his body was telling him he needed glasses.

Both he and Jody flinched when they heard the flutter of wings and Sam jumped out of his chair, while Jody's eyes just widened and she reached for the gun at her belt. She was somewhat relieved to find out; it wasn't a demon, but an angel.

"Why are you here? Doesn't that place of yours have enough information, books, lore?" Michael asked, sounding tired. He threw himself in Jody's couch and the sheriff couldn't believe that was an actual angel in her house. Because he sure didn't act like one, not that she knew how they would act. She just had high expectations, that's all.

"I am really trying to find something, and we already went through all the books in the bunker. So far no luck." Sam said, looking on high alert. He always acted like that in front of Michael, and knowing how much pain and suffering both archangels in front of him caused, who wouldn't be vigilant in their presence? "But how did you find me? I thought we were cloaked from the angels?" Sam asked, hoping it wasn't his brother who told Michael where Sam was just to get rid of the annoying archangel.

"Ha – Michael huffed a laugh and Sam wasn't even sure who was speaking any more – Sure, your little guardian angel cloaked you both, but that was like what? A decade ago? How many times you sustained injuries and broken ribs, huh? You should know, a broken sigil is useless." Michael said nonchalantly and Jody frowned at him when he put his feet up on her coffee-table.

"But, you know what, Sammy? – and Sam flinched at the use of his nickname, it sounded so wrong out of those mouth – you are worse for wear. You, I can sense. Your brother on the other hand... – and Michael threw his hands behind his head – him I can't sense."

"Maybe cuz he's in the bunker. He might have powered up the wardings." Sam said, clearly annoyed at his brother. It was so like him to do that, and leave Sam to deal with Michael. But he was confused when Michael disproved that statement.

"Common. Dean powered up the wardings as soon as I left the first time, give him some credit. No, there is another reason I can't sense him. And the funny thing – Michael said with a smirk – it started last night."

"What?! – Sam asked his eyes wide – Don't you think you should have started with that?!" He almost yelled at the archangel as he pulled his phone out to call his brother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh, shit." *Dean said as he looked at his phone and Sam's name appeared on the screen. "What should I do?" He asked looking at Jack, tilting his phone so that the kid could see who was calling.

Jack frowned at the phone, but then looked up at *Dean, radiating with confidence. "Answer it and put it on speaker. Act as yourself. Sam asks something you don't know, I'll jump in." They exchanged nods and *Dean answered.

"You're on speaker." *Dean said straight out.

"Oh, Dean. Good. You're ok. – a relieved voice of his brother spoke – where are you?"

Jack frowned and pointed to *Dean telling him to frown to. And then he pointed downwards. *Dean understood and replied "Where the heck do you think I am?! Still in the bunker. What's up? You found anything?"

"Aside from an annoying archangel, nothing yet. But we still have tons of books to go through." Sam stated and *Dean replied " You do that. And we'll..."

"And we'll check the archives again" Jack finished and disconnected the line. He only hoped that fooled Sam. He didn't really want to lie to him, but after hearing what *Dean was, he thought Sam wouldn't take it well. He didn't realize, but a part of him really wanted to leave Sam out of this. Because deep down he knew, if Sam found out, he would be the one left out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for the delay, been in a hospital, something about my kidneys... Anyway, here's a chapter, and for those that follow the story on ff too, the update will be withing a day.  
> Since I got a weekend pass, Monday I am going back to the hospital, so I am not sure when the next update will be. Sorry everyone. But thanks for reading, any comments on the story are much apreciated.

"See – Sam said with relief – Dean's fine. He's back at the bunker with Jack." He glanced at Michael, but dared not to give the archangel an angry look. Michael alarmed him for nothing, or so it seemed to Sam. For a second he thought Michael was only trying to make sure Dean was also working, trying to find an answer to the problem.

"Yeah, sure – Michael said as he yawned – he didn't sound strange at all. Nor did he pause when he talked. Nor did the kid finish his sentence." God, Michael was annoying Sam thought, but couldn't shake a feeling that Michael could be right. There was something a bit off about that conversation. And Sam felt that old worry creeping up on him.

"But, it could only be me... – Michael said nonchalantly – This whole situation could be messing with my senses. Maybe you should try harder to fix it." He said and glared at Sam, his eyes ordering him to keep looking, his serious face demanding a solution.

Jody was really starting to get pissed. The archangel sat at her house, on her couch, his feet on her coffee table, and all he seemed to do was push Sam around. Then he worked him up for nothing, and expected him to carry on just like that. Na-ha Jody thought.

"That's it! – she shouted out and Sam flinched – first off, get your feet of my coffee table!" She pushed his feet of the table and gave him a deep stare. "And sit up straight! You're an archangel, act like it. Second, what the heck was that? You say something is wrong with Dean, and then take it back, just like that?! Have us worry for nothing?!" She pointed a threatening finger at Michael, frowning at him "And third, stop acting like you own the world. Cuz, you don't. Get your damn ass of that high throne of yours and do some actual work."

"Here – she threw a book in his lap – help us solve your problem." Both Sam and Michael looked at Jody speechless. Sam was confused, he knew Jody to be strict sometimes, but he never expected her to act like this.

Michael on the other hand felt like he was struck down. No one ever talked to him like that, not even his father. God would simply state what he wanted and Michael would obey. But no one ever yelled at him and scolded him like that, he always did what was right, even though he never got a pat on the back, or any words of praise for his efforts. He stared at the human in front of him, shocked and with his mouth open as Jody glared at him angrily. Then her eyes pointed at the book in his lap, and back on him. He slowly closed his mouth and looked down at the book. Still confused and maybe slightly intimidated, he opened the book and started slowly flipping through the pages.

Jody just nodded, pleased at herself, and Sam, still a bit baffled, watched her go back to table and continuing the research. He blinked a couple of times as he pulled his thoughts and he joined her, throwing glances at the archangel who seemed to really try and help.

'Wow. What a woman, huh?' Michael could hear Lucifer's voice, slightly teasing him, so he had to reply.

"Shut up, Lucifer!"

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"So you are Lucifer? But you are also Dean?" Jack tried hard to understand, his face giving out confusion. He looked at the floor, his eyes going back and forward, trying to comprehend how that was possible. If nothing else, he was sure he was the one that brought him here, somehow. Dean, who he looked up to and *Lucifer, his real father, combined. Jack closed his eyes, trying to feel his own grace, to feel its level.

It was low, way too low to open a rift, but enough for him to try something. *Dean looked at him curiously as Jack took a deep breath, his brows frowning in deep concentration and he let his grace inspect his surroundings. When it reached *Dean, he grasped and *Dean flinched at the same time. It was there. Buried deep down, but there. Lucifer's grace. Locked away tightly, but Jack could feel just a bit of it seeping out. Not enough to make *Dean the Devil, but just enough for *Lucifer to know what was happening.

When Jack's grace reached *Dean, he felt a sting, almost like an intrusion. But something inside him welcomed the contact and *Dean knew exactly what that was. He always feared Lucifer would bust out again, leaving him in his dream land, despite the fact that *Lucifer decided on internal slumber after his last release. Somewhere deep down *Dean knew, but would never admit it, *Lucifer was more dozing off then sleeping. And he might have helped out a couple of times too, *Dean was never sure.

But he was sure now. And it scared him. *Lucifer was a beast when he came out to play last time, but once he remembered why he decided to take the deal and become human, he was more at peace with himself, with being *Dean. If *Lucifer was waking up again, *Dean could only hope the memory remained.

One thing was certain, *Dean and Jack shared a connection, a bond, and as much as *Dean wanted to go back to his world, to his brother, a big part of him wanted to stay with this kid and get to know him a bit. *Sam will be fine – his own voice spoke to *Dean, thinking there are no big threats left in their world. All the demons were dead, and unlike in his world, there are no angels in sight. Well, aside for one, who was more of a nuisance then a threat.

"We really should find a way to send you back..." Jack said a bit sadly and they both stood there for a moment, looking at each other, not really wanting that to happen.

"Yeah... Sure..." *Dean said with uncertainty and they proceeded to the library.

Few hours later

Jack and *Dean sat at the War table surrounded by books and *Dean looked clearly annoyed. Much like his double, he didn't really enjoy doing the research. He sighed as he opened a cover of an old book only using two fingers, like he was disgusted by it. He let the cover drop back down and looked at Jack who was already going through his fourth book. Jack looked up at *Dean and asked "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." *Dean said and looked away, but it was clear, Jack didn't really believe him. The kid slowly closed the book he was reading, giving *Dean a curious look and *Dean just shrugged his shoulders, sighing a bit. "This is boring."

Jack actually huffed a smile at that, that was such a Dean thing to say. He slid the book across the table, further away from himself and looked at *Dean "Do you... Do you want to take a break?"

And *Dean literally jumped, taking any opportunity to leave the books and go and have some fun. "You know any good places around here that have good food? I'm kinda hungry." *Dean asked and some of his excitement toned down when Jack confirmed there was a place, but it was a few miles away, in town. "A few miles? You have a ride?" he asked with slight hope.

Jack didn't know if *Dean had the car, but he knew he would like the sight of one. So without a word, Jack grabbed his jacket and led *Dean to the garage. Opening the door, he said with a devilish smile, eager to see *Dean's reaction "We could take Dean's car. I don't think he'd mind, you being a Dean too."

And the sight of his baby, all shiny and clean shone upon *Dean like a warm ray of sunshine, and he widened his eyes, his mouth forming a large grin. Jack kept the smile on his face as *Dean approached the car, running his hand down the hood and up the A pillar, reaching the roof. He finally let his hand slide to the car lock and said "Oh, I am so driving."

*Dean sat in the driver's seat and took in the sight and the smell of the impala. Jack joined him in the car and finally asked "You have a car back in your world?"

"Do I have... - *Dean started amusingly – I have this exact car. Though my baby has seen better days. She is all torn down from being on the road all the time." *Dean finished a bit sadly, but shook the feeling away and started her up. The smile was back on his face when the baby purred back at him and he nodded at Jack as he put it in gear and they drove off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So I'm here and he is there... –Dean said and looked at *Sam – Is he... Is he dangerous?" he asked nervously and was partly relieved when *Sam answered that his brother is no more dangerous than an average hunter.

"*Lucifer hasn't emerged in almost a decade – *Sam stated – there shouldn't be a reason for him to pop up now. Not unless something really drastic happens." *Sam said calmly looking at Dean who was still sitting on the bed, trying to sort things out.

"Drastic like what?" Dean asked, not really caring about the grammar in that sentence. He gave *Sam a worried glare and *Sam tried to sooth his worried mind.

"Last time, Dean was shot with a very specific gun... The colt... - *Sam gave Dean a questioning look and Dean nodded, suggesting he knew about the colt, so *Sam moved on – That was kinda the breaking point. *Lucifer was struggling to free himself before that, but that... That sort of broke whatever was keeping him locked down. Nobody's gonna shoot *Dean with the colt in your world, are they?" *Sam asked slightly worried.

Dean immediately shook his head, dismissing the idea "The colt's destroyed." But his thoughts still went in the direction of things that might trigger *Lucifer's release, and right now, he was thankful there were only a few. "Our Michael and Lucifer might freak *Dean out, but I doubt it would make your *Lucifer pop up. Hell is... Well I honestly don't know. But there haven't been a lot of demon activity since... – and Dean swallowed hard, remembering a demon he has now come to think of as almost a friend – since the previous guy that ran it died..." he trailed off, reminiscing about Crowley and all the things he had done for them.

"Well, then *Dean shout be fine - *Sam said trying to sound reassuring interrupting Dean's thoughts – As long as there is nothing powerful that can hurt him, or make him want to come out..." *Sam finished with a sigh, really hoping his brother will be alright.

"Yeah, no, there shouldn't be anything... Gabriel and Cass are up in Heaven... Sam might not take it all so well, but he will eventually help *Dean. So... Oh, shit!" Dean said and immediately stood up. He started pacing, but quickly came to a holt and ran his hand over his face. "Jack..."

And for some reason *Sam seemed to flinch at the mention of that name, but gave Dean a look that screamed curiosity. "Who is Jack?" he asked frowning, his face slightly showing he might already know the answer to that. Or a part of the answer, anyway.

"He... He's just a kid..." Dean stated, but was interrupted by *Sam who asked "He wouldn't happen to be about 5ft 9, dirty blond hair with blue eyes?" Dean stared at him blankly for a moment before he asked timidly "How... how do you know that?"

*Sam gulped and averted his eyes, not really wanting to tell Dean. He still remembered how his brother reacted when they found out, and he didn't want to see that look of rejection again. Not coming from someone that looked exactly like his brother.

"*Sam... – Dean started slowly – Sam, are you a psychic?" He asked not really sure if he wanted to know the answer, but when *Sam nodded, not lifting his head to meet Dean's gaze, slight fear grew inside Dean and he just had to ask "You haven't been drinking any demon blood, have you?" Dean really hoped *Sam would say no. A psychic version of his brother, he could handle. A demon-blood version... That just might have been too much for Dean.

"Demon blood? - *Sam asked disgusted – Gross." *Sam finally looked up at Dean and was somewhat pleased when he saw relief on Dean's face. He was glad there wasn't any judgement in Dean's eyes.

"Tell me what you saw." Dean said sitting next to *Sam and nodded, encouraging him to share. *Sam sure did questions about how Dean knew, maybe about that world's version of himself, but he felt Jack was more important now.

"I saw this kid... I guess it was that Jack... I saw him sitting on the edge of a bed in an old room, kinda like..."

"Kind of an old World War bunker. Go on."

"He was holding a small round object in his hand, playing with it, but his expression was sad... I... I could feel like he was... I don't know, lonely?"Dean frowned at that statement, briefly considering it, but quickly nodded at *Sam to continue.

"He seemed to be playing with it, without giving it attention and then he looked up at the small window in his room. The smiled seeing a falling star, but then... I could feel that sorrow amplify. It... He felt like he was all alone in the world..." *Sam said looking at Dean, who shook his head.

"No, no... Impossible... He... He was living with us in the bunker, we... We were there, all the time. I mean sure we were kinda busy with Michael..." and Dean blinked a few times, realizing that just maybe, they haven't paid much attention to the kid. He frowned when he remembered that Cass spent almost all of his time in Heaven, and they wouldn't let Michael-Lucifer anywhere near the kid. Unknowingly they pushed him aside.

Dean got up and started pacing, muttering into his chin "How? He isn't... He doesn't have his powers... He shouldn't be able to open the rift..." Dean's eyes widened as he realized there wasn't a rift at all. He would have known, he would have been blinded by a bright light. And he would be here with both *Sam and *Dean of this world, or the two of them would have been there with him and his brother. "No... It wouldn't happen like this... We... We swapped places..."

*Sam stared at him, curious and worried again. Dean's nervousness was getting to him until he finally had enough of watching Dean pace around, clearly upset. He needed answers "Who the hell is this kid?"

Dean stopped dead in his tracks and looked at *Sam, his expression vague. "He... He's Lucifer's kid."


	5. Chapter 5

Jack and *Dean were leaning on the hood of the impala, chowing down on their burgers. *Dean looked up at the big neon sign and huffed a smile "Rollin' Thunder Burger bar. Should remember that. They have some badass burgers here." Jack just smiled and took a sip of his chocolate milkshake. He always wanted to try the nougat flavoured one, but never found a place that served it.

*Dean took the last bite, rolled up the wrapping paper in a ball and took a shot, landing a perfect score to the trash can. He smiled and Jack smiled too. Following *Dean's gestures, he rolled the paper and *Dean observed him taking the shot and completely missing the can. He walked up, picked up the ball and threw it back to Jack, who barely managed to catch it, looking slightly confused.

"Try again. Flick your wrist like this." *Dean said, showing Jack how to do it. Jack looked down on the ball in his hand, then up at *Dean. When *Dean nodded at him, his smile saying go-for-it, Jack eyed the trash can. He threw the ball just like *Dean told him to and the ball bounced off the edges of the can a couple of times before landing inside. "See. It's easy." *Dean smiled almost proudly at the kid and Jack returned a happy smile.

Jack felt so happy, so fulfilled and it somewhat bothered him. Yes, he finally had someone by his side, he didn't feel so alone anymore, but at what cost? Their Dean was probably stuck in that other world and Jack still had no idea how it happened. He felt guilty, not just because he sent Dean away, but because he was also enjoying the company of another one.

"We should go. Get back to the bunker." He said sadly, but seriously and *Dean nodded understanding. Years of experience thought him how to spot a look filled with guilt and even though a part of him didn't want to leave, he knew he would eventually have to. So he walked back to the car, and just as he was about to open the driver's door, Jack asked "Could I drive?"

*Dean would never, ever let someone else drive his baby; aside maybe his own brother and he winced at the question. But this wasn't really his baby, and also a part of him wanted to indulge the kid. So slightly nervous, he nodded and threw the keys to the kid. Jack stared a bit confused at the keys in his hand, not really believing his request got approved.

They sat in and the first thing Jack did was put the car in reverse. "Wow, wow. R is not for race. Why don't you put it in park and then start her up." *Dean said looking at Jack with curiosity. When the starter roared at Jack, telling him what he was doing was wrong, "You need to... Here..." *Dean said, placing the gear in the correct slot and went back to stare at the kid.

"Do you even know how to drive?" *Dean asked slightly frowning, but rolled his eyes when the kid gave him a busted look. Still, he had a smile on his face as he explained to Jack which pedal was for what, and how to put it in drive and anything else he might need to know for now. "OK, now the car is running. Put it in gear and go." He finished and focused his eyes on the road waiting for Jack to start driving.

Luckily, there was an open road with almost no traffic, but Jack still pushed the brakes, bringing a car to a stop. "Ok, you might want to use one foot instead of two - *Dean said pointing at the pedals – And just relax. Take it smooth, don't over think it." Nervously, Jack continued to drive, holding his breath and turning slightly red in the face. *Dean still kept his eye on the road and when the car started to wobble off the lane, *Dean suggested that Jack should keep it between the lines. And when Jack started to accelerate a bit too much, *Dean explained to him all about the speed limit. It was obvious, Jack had relaxed after a while and the ride went smoothly afterwards.

"Can't believe no one ever showed you how to drive - *Dean said breaking the silence – I mean, you're like what, twenty, twenty-two?" he asked curiously and gulped when Jack said he was only two years old. "How?" *Dean asked frowning, confused a bit and unknowingly clenching to his seat.

"Before I was born, my mother told me it is a dangerous world out there and that I needed to grow up fast. So I did..." Jack explained nervously and *Dean could see it was a sore subject, his mother. So he decided not to push it, instead he just nodded and put on some music. His thoughts were all about Jack, and how he must have been so powerful when he was born. He would have been a great threat and *Dean couldn't help but feel glad that this world versions of him and his brother adopted the kid rather than try to kill him. He was a good kid, *Dean could see that.

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"So, let me get this straight. Your Lucifer had a kid? Then that would make Jack a..." *Sam trailed off, trying to remember what he read in the lore about angels. He didn't really do a lot of reading regarding them, he had no need to. The only angel they knew about, the only angel they met was Jeremiel, or as *Lucifer referred to him as his parole officer.

"A nephilim." Dean finished for him, with a heavy sigh. "But deep down, he is a good kid. He saved us, saved our friends and family numerous times. Sure, he could be a bit gullible sometimes, naive even but... He wouldn't do this on purpose." Again, Dean ran his hand over his face and continued talking, trying to figure it out. *Sam just listened.

"I mean how could he? He gave away most of his powers to... – and Dean shook his head, dismissing the idea – no, he couldn't have done it with his powers... Something else must have happened... – he turned his attention to *Sam and gave him a curious look – You said he played with something in his hands... Could it be a cursed object or something like that?"

*Sam shrugged "I... I don't know. I didn't get a good look at it. Maybe..."

Dean slumped back into this bed with another heavy sigh. "Well, it doesn't matter. I have to find a way back..."

"So it is research time, huh?" *Sam said slightly hopeful. He liked reading, and he hoped this version of his brother liked it too, or would at least help him out. He frowned when Dean huffed a laugh at him shaking his head and he thought he must have reminded Dean of his Sam. But his frown deepened when Dean said he already knew a way back.

"But it might be tricky... No, scratch that, it will be tricky. – and he looked *Sam straight in the eyes before he asked – Tell me, aside from *Lucifer, ever met another archangel?"

*Sam looked at him both surprised and baffled. "Archangel? – he asked as if he was hearing the word for the first time – I... I mean, I know *Lucifer was described in the bible as an archangel, but I... I always thought..."

"I'll take that as a no. – Dean said, partly annoyed – How about any angels? You do have those in this world, right?"

"Well, no, not really." *Sam stated and flinched when Dean threw his hands in the air and turned to walk away. But he quickly turned back and asked, still frowning "You killed all the demons, and you have no angels. What the hell do you guys do!?"

"We hunt." *Sam stated plainly.

"Oh, you hunt? Really? – Dean said sarcastically, maybe even slightly condescending – And what exactly do you hunt?" He would definitely burst out laughing if *Sam said they hunted deer, or something like that.

"Ghosts, ghouls, vamps, werewolves... - *Sam replied with innocence in his voice - You know... Things that go bump in the night. We... We save people. It's the family business."

And Dean stood there awestruck. He forgot about the family business, saving a person or two. Lately it has all become about saving the world, preventing one apocalypse after another, and dealing with the big things. He forgot what it was like to even go on a regular hunt, with no other worries on his mind aside for killing the monster of the week. He stood there, looking at *Sam, his expression baffled with slight nostalgia, and his mouth opened, and clung open, no words coming out. For just a moment, he wished he had a life like that. And that thought scared him.

*Sam felt uncomfortable and slightly shifted on the bed. He noticed the look in Dean's eyes and it felt strange. So strange he wanted to change the subject. "Um... we do know one angel."

Dean blinked a few times and snapped out of his thoughts. Trying to shake off that feeling, he huffed a smile and then said "Let me guess. Like 5ft 10, dark hair, blue eyes, wears a trench-coat all the time?"

"Um... No... - *Sam stated confusingly and Dean frowned – I only saw the guy like maybe once. And he was blond and taller and... I forgot what he was wearing... Was kinda busy at the time..."

"What's his name?" Dean knew a hand full of angel names and only hoped the one in question wasn't Zachariah. Though he would gladly stab him in the face once more.

"Jeremiel."

"Never heard of him." Dean said, and wished he could ask Cass about him. Though, the name could be a fake, just like it was with Gadreel aka Ezekiel. "Alright. – he said with determination on his face – here goes nothing."

Dean sat back on the bed and closed his eyes. *Sam watched him curiously as Dean said a weird prayer out loud. " Hey, Jeremiel, it's Dean. And I am from another universe. And I know you angels like to keep everything in order, but I kinda swapped places with um... With your Dean and... Um... We need some help. If you don't mind." A part of him just wanted to say something in the lines of Get-your-ass-here like he did so many times with Cass, but he wanted to try and be polite.

"What are you doing?" *Sam asked looking back at Dean baffled after a minute passed by and nothing happened.

"Well, I tried to pray to that angel. Guess it didn't work." Dean said sounding defeated. There was no way he could get home without archangel grace. Other stuff, he would find, he knew where to look. But this. If the angel didn't reply, they had no other way of getting the juice.

They both flinched when there was a knock on the door and Dean was surprised. If it was the angel in question, well... When did they ever knock?

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"You sure you don't want to eat?" Jody asked glancing back at Michael who was still sitting on the couch, nose deep in books. She placed a big plate of lasagne on her table in front of Sam and he could hear his stomach growl at the sight. He smiled awkwardly when Michael replied "No, thank you" still sounding intimidated by the sheriff and Jody just shrugged as she sat down.

After a few bites, Sam felt the awkwardness of the silence and he spoke up "This is amazing, Jody." She smiled back at him and said "Thanks."

"How um... How are the girls?" He asked taking another bite and savouring it. He really did enjoy Jody's cooking.

"Oh, they're good. Alex is working a double at the hospital and Claire and Patience are at school. They are all doing well. Even Claire. When that whole thing with Kaia happened I thought..." Jody talked waving her fork in the air, but got interrupted when Michael jumped up and ran to them.

"Could this be a way?" He asked shoving an opened book into Sam's arms and Sam struggled to keep the book open and to set down his fork, careful not to smear the book up. After he managed to do that, he glance over at the text in the book, skim-reading it.

His eyes widened and a small smile appeared on his face as he read about a wishing-pearl, a pearl that granted a person their deepest desire. "Yes... Yes... – he said enthusiastically – this, this could work. Good job." That last sentence he blurred out on accident, and Michael slightly gasped hearing it. Did someone just commend him?

"Um... And you know the best part? – Sam tried to move on – I think we might have it in the bunker. I remember reading about it in the archives. I think the Men of Letters acquired it a long time ago and just bagged it and tagged it and tossed it in the storage." He said with a wide grin and clear excitement in his voice. Could it be? Will it finally be over?

"Great, let's go." Michael said and set his hand on Sam's shoulder. The next second they were gone, much to Jody's amazement. But then she frowned and yelled out to the sky "Sure. I'll just clean up this mess all by myself." She glanced over at the dinner table with the dirty dishes and then at the books scattered all around and just sighed.


	6. Chapter 6

Dean opened the door and stood baffled as a short, overweight woman wearing a maid outfit smiled politely at him and asked "Good afternoon, sir. Are you in need of room service? A change in sheets or perhaps some fresh towels?"

And sure, she did seem like an average maid that clean up these kinds of hotels, complete with a smile and the politeness that should come with the service. But common, those are always faked tired smiles, and most of the time, there are more rude words and curses. And the dog stood way back, to relaxed for a hellhound. So Dean just opened the door widely and let the maid in.

*Sam quickly stood up and gave the maid a surprised look, while she just smiled at him. "You are way too polite to be the maid – Dean stated, his eyes darting the woman, his body on high alert – Heck, you're even too polite to be an angel. Jeremiel, I guess?"

"Was I that obvious, or are you just that observant?" the maid smirked, but there was nothing vicious about it. She turned to *Sam and gave him a somewhat sympathetic look before she spoke "Hello, Sam. I am sorry. I was made aware of the situation just moments ago. I would have come sooner if I knew." And *Sam gave the woman a small nod, his expression still confused and his eyes wide like he could actually see the angel inside.

"Alright, you can skip the pleasantries. – Dean said with an eye roll – We need to fix this. And I know a way, a spell. I... We just need your help to get one ingredient..."

"And what would that be?" Jeremiel asked and observed the human. It was intriguing to see this particular human without seeing *Lucifer inside, yet he had the similar spark. When Dean replied they needed archangel grace, the angel raised one brow. Despite the fact that this Dean wasn't the fallen angel Jeremiel knew, he sure did seem to know a lot about angels and he couldn't help but wonder what important role that Dean had in his world.

"Now, I know it is a long shot – Dean continued – to ask *Michael or *Gabriel, or especially *Raphael to let us borrow some of their grace, but if we are going to set everything back the way it was supposed to be, we need it."

"None of them would help – Jeremiel said sounding slightly mournful – None of them would care." And it was true; all the archangels in this world gave up on it a long time ago. They gave up on their own brother a long time ago too and left *Lucifer to fight his own battles alone. But *Lucifer found a new family to belong to, and Jeremiel couldn't have been more glad. He was the only one who still cared. Well, almost the only one. "However, there is one more option. I could go and ask Father."

Dean's brows shot up, his look turned into a very surprised one and he said "Wait. Wait. So, Ch... I mean God is here? In Heaven?" and when Jeremiel nodded Dean continued "Well, that's um... Unexpected..."

Jeremiel frowned feeling slightly amused "You said that with such disbelief. Did you think there isn't God?" The woman the angel was possessing shifted her weight on the other leg, bringing her hands to her waist and stared at the hunter, interested to see what his reply would be.

"God? Oh, I know there is God. Heck, I've even met him. He was a washed up writer, who told me to hoard the toilet paper for an upcoming apocalypse. – Dean said sounding dismissive – And I know he won't lift a finger to help."

And as surprising as those words may have been for the angel, he made no comment about them, but instead only said "Oh, Dean. You have to have a little faith." and simply walked out the door. Dean huffed a laugh as he watch the woman sway her hips to the door and thought to himself Yeah, that's what Cass said too when he pulled me out of Hell, remembering just how misguided his friend was back then. *Sam was quiet through the entire conversation and managed to breathe out the air he didn't even realize he was holding.

When he saw the angel last, his powers were only at their beginning and he could see the divine inside the human Jeremiel was possessing at the time. His powers had developed over time and now he could see so much more. He could see the actual angel inside, complete with wings and a float of grace through the entire system. He could feel a pulse emanating from him and it almost felt like a heartbeat. But *Sam said nothing, looking at Dean who had such a disappointed and tired look on his face.

"Um... Why don't we grab a bite to eat and then we can consider other options? I'm starving." *Sam said hoping that if Dean ate, he might feel just a bit better. He was almost desperate and defeated, *Sam could feel it. Even without his psychic powers, he knew that look on his brother's face.

With a deep sigh, Dean grabbed his jacket and said "Yeah, sure." He was hungry, he hadn't eaten anything since he woke up that morning in a new world. As he walked to the door he asked "Where are we, anyway?"

"Illinois. Place called Normal." *Sam replied and returned the ironic smile Dean had on his face. Normal, huh? Dean thought to himself Nothing normal about this. But where did he hear that name before? Seems like they worked a case in this exact place a long time ago. He was just about to ask *Sam what case they were working here when he opened the door only to be surprised by the dog.

He flinched at the sight of it, but this time the dog just stared at him for a few seconds before tilting its head sideways and then he whined. Dean frowned, confused by this reaction and *Sam had the exact same expression. "It's like... Like he's apologizing for something he didn't do." *Sam said having read the dogs emotions.

Dean just stared at the hellhound. A lot of old memories started crawling back to his head since he got to this world and this one was a particularly painful one. The night they fought Lilith. The night they lost. The night he got dragged to Hell. But he didn't say anything. He wouldn't reminisce on Hell. Not now, not while he had bigger problems, or so he told himself. The fact was, he buried that a long time ago and he wanted it to stay buried.

Moving slowly, still keeping his eyes on the hound, he circled around it and tried to walk away, but the hound followed him, almost looking like a lost puppy. "Maybe he just misses *Dean." *Sam drew a conclusion and Dean just nodded letting him think that must be it. He frowned when *Sam opened the car to let the dog in, but sat at the driver's seat like he always does, clearly annoyed by the dog.

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It was slowly getting dark outside when Jack and *Dean walked in the bunker laughing about something known only to them. Jack sat at the table and pulled up a book when *Dean announced he was going to get a beer out of the fridge. "You want one?" he asked Jack and when Jack thanked him, but refused, *Dean just shrugged and went to the kitchen.

And just when he was out of sight, Jack was startled by the flap of wings and when he turned around he saw Sam and Michael. Sam still had a book in his hand, but his confused look quickly turned into a slightly angry one. "Don't do that." He said as calmly as he could and Michael just rolled his eyes.

"Hey Jack – Sam said with a slight smile – Where's Dean?" Jack gulped and Sam noticed the slight fear in Jack's eyes. The kid looked down at the book, avoiding eye contact and tried to say "He's um... He's..."

He got interrupted and his eyes widened at the sound of *Dean's voice, that was clearly approaching "Hey, I took two beers, just in case you change your mind. If not, that's fine too, I'll drink them both. Oh, and by the way, that burger place was... awesome." The last word just rolled out of his mouth robotically and he just stopped in his tracks when he saw Sam. But then his eyes met Michael's and he silently gasped having felt a sharp pinch in his chest.

Sam was clueless as to what was going on, and not knowing it wasn't really his brother un front of him, he supposed that the look on *Dean's face was a guilty one, and they just busted them drinking beer and having fun instead of trying to come up with a solution. So he gave *Dean a dirty look and might have said a few scolding words before he left the room, but *Dean wasn't really listening.

He just glared at Michael; a part of him knowing exactly who it was that was standing in front of him and staring directly at him. All sort of emotions swarmed inside of him and they felt so strange to him. Like they weren't his emotions at all. Michael was a mess as well. He stared at *Dean feeling just a bit of his brother there and he was starting to think he was losing it. Maybe he was reflecting his own emotions onto *Dean? He was his perfect vessel after all.

They broke their eye stare when Michael shook his head, trying to get a grip of his senses and he just walked away in the direction Sam went. *Dean breathed out a sigh of relief, even though deep down he knew. Michael had seen right through him. He knew the time had come to reveal to Sam who he really was, and he dreaded the moment he would have to look him in the eyes and tell him he is his worst nightmare. *Dean looked over at Jack, who seemed nervous and scared, and he smiled brightly at the kid. He gave him a comforting nod, the look in his eyes trying to reassure Jack that everything will be alright.

They both looked back at the doorway when Michael came back, looking almost frantic. "I don't understand, how could it be gone?!" he shouted out, his face red in anger.

Sam followed right behind him, pale and with a hopeless expression. "I... I don't know. It's not there. The pearl is not there. Something must have happened... I... I remember reading its case file and I inspected the bag and then put it back in the drawer..." Sam said, sounding apologetic. He shut his eyes, feeling all his burdens just amplify. They finally found a way, a way to solve this, and he just started to hope that the archangel would finally leave them alone.

*Dean saw Jack flinch at the sound of the pearl, but not having a clue as to what they were talking about, he kept his mouth shut. Instead he kept his focus on the archangel who was hyperventilating. But when Michael turned around, *Dean's eyes widened in fear of the sight, and he didn't know what was worse. The fact that he just saw what he did, or that the others had no reaction to it whatsoever.

Michael turned to face them, bewildered, and just as any time he lets his emotions get the best of him, he lost control again. He lost control and fell into unconsciousness. His eyes gave a bright blue glow and as it dimmed down it was replaced by a fiery red. The kind of red *Dean knew all too well.

Lucifer glanced back at Sam and then down at the floor before he said to him "You should try and get some rest while he's out of it." and he sounded so sincere and so thoughtful. And he meant it. But that is not the only reason he wanted Sam out of the room. Luckily, Sam sighed in relief, feeling so tired of the day he had. Of the week, of the past four months he had. And he took any opportunity he could. They would just have to figure something out in the morning.

"You coming?" Sam asked *Dean and *Dean flinched as he was pulled out of his thoughts. *Dean gulped silently, but managed to pull on a smile as he raised the two beers in his hand and answered "Yeah, just wanna finish this." Sam simply shrugged and walked away in the direction of his room.

When they were finally alone, Lucifer looked at Jack with slight disapproval in his eyes, but then he focused on *Dean. He gave him a deep stare, wondering how it was possible, what was he actually seeing, sensing there. *Dean returned the stare, his eyes darting the archangel with some spite in the mix. Lucifer finally broke the staring contest as he pointed a finger first at *Dean, then at Jack and then said "Ok, you two better tell me what is going on here. Cuz my brother might have thought he was going crazy, but I know my grace when I sense it. So why would Dean Winchester have a butt load of it?"

*Dean opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say. It wasn't just the fact that a powerful being stood before him and could take him out with a snap of his fingers. It was also the fact that the being in front of him was a part of himself, a creature of his dreams or nightmares, *Dean wasn't sure anymore. And yeah, Jack told him there was a Lucifer in this world, kinda obvious when you have just met his kid, but *Dean never anticipated he would feel so confused by his emotions when he actually met the Devil.

Lucifer's attention got drawn to Jack, when the kid pulled out something out of his pocket and placed it on the table. His posture was shrunken, his expression apologetic as he looked up at his father and said "I'm sorry. I found it and I... I didn't know what it was. It had no label on it; it just rolled when I pulled open the drawer." He looked at *Dean, his eyes sad as he continued "I guess it was this that brought you here somehow." On the table stood a small evory pearl.

"Brought him here? What do you mean, Jack?" Lucifer asked calmly. He didn't feel mad at the kid, there was more worry in his voice.

Jack's eyes were on the ground for a few moments, his mind contemplating a good way to explain to his father he wished for one. He bit down on his lower lip and looked up at Lucifer remorsefully as he explained "I... I guess I felt lonely. I wanted someone to... – and he just could say the words – I... I think I might have made a wish and it came true. He... He is from another world, like the SSam and DDean we met before... But... He, he is different..."

"Different how?" Lucifer asked still in a calm matter, but something just bubbled up inside *Dean. Like a part of him wanted to save the kid from having to explain it, wanted to spare him the possible lecture he might receive. Breathing heavily, he stood his ground and spoke.

"I am Lucifer."


	7. Chapter 7

"Um, no, you're not." Lucifer said matter-of-fact, his brows raised in an almost mocking way. "I can feel some of that grace inside, but a part of it is human. There is a soul there in the mix. But it's not like a possession – Lucifer said, squinting his eyes at *Dean, like he was examining him – it is more like..." and he trailed off, the small amount of his own grace extending out, reaching *Dean, circling him, inspecting him.

"Oh, my Dad. – Lucifer suddenly burst out laughing – you really are *Lucifer. And you are a Winchester at the same time... Oh... This... This is priceless." He clenched his stomach and slightly bended forward. *Dean glared angrily at him, his body in rigor, but the back of his mind did wonder what exactly did the Devil see, or sense.

"You fell? – Lucifer said toning down the laughing – Why would you do that? Why would an archangel ever choose to be reborn as human? Or did you have a choice in the matter?" Lucifer's face turned a bit more serious, knowing well who had the power to do that.

*Dean clenched his jaw for a second, letting the anger wash away, or get buried deep down, whichever came first. He took a deep breath, calming down, but still holding a firm glare at Lucifer. "It was his choice. He chose this. I didn't."

Lucifer's opened his mouth just a bit, but then his expression turned into a somewhat comforting one. "Tell me. Tell me everything." he said calmly and there was a distinct flash of curiosity on his face.

"Nothing much to tell. - *Dean said as he waved his hand away – he was just tired. Tired of all the games, of trying to redeem himself. But it was a lie. God just had him doing his dirty work. And when he declined to do one thing, one most important thing, God gave him a choice."

*Dean took another deep breath and slumped on a chair. He looked at the beer bottles in his hand and then back at Lucifer, who had his brows raised, waiting to hear the rest of the story. *Dean set one of the bottles on the table and opened the other. He took a long swing at it, drinking nearly half of the bottle before he brought it back down and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"Either kill the mother that would bear a child that would take over the throne in Hell, becoming more powerful than anyone could ever imagine or... Or keep the kid on the right track. Keep him safe. And I did." The everlasting need of any Dean to protect his younger brother was all present, no matter what world it was. But this. This might have been taken up to extremes.

Lucifer just stood there, baffled. In that world he fell to protect a human. And not just any human, his perfect vessel? What kind of a crazy world was that? Even though he had gone softer these past few months and went through a lot of emotions he still couldn't picture it. He still didn't understand.

"How? How could you... he... How could he make such a decision? After spending centuries in the cage, he still... No, I can't... I can't understand it." He said shaking his head, his bows in a deep frown, contemplating it all.

"*Lucifer... He was never in the cage." *Dean said plainly and took another sip of his beer, finishing the bottle. Lucifer's mouth dropped open, but he quickly closed them, still in shock. But he got it now. He understood. Though he could never imagine it. The cage did what it was meant to do, it made him softer. The old him would relish total havoc upon the world, almost like he tried to do when he was first released. Lucifer thought he made an error in judgement, not killing Dean, his brother's perfect vessel straight away and thus sealing the win in the upcoming apocalypse.

But the truth was he was weaker then than before the cage. And when he ended up back in it, something inside him just broke. Even with his brother there... Lucifer glanced at Jack, the kid sitting at the table, listening to it all, sad expression on his face and he felt a slight pinch in his heart. The kid was the best thing Lucifer ever did and he failed him more than once. He will not fail him again.

"OK... – Lucifer said turning his attention to *Dean again – now what? I'm not sure why you didn't tell Sam this and..." he got cut off when *Dean gave him a look filled with sorrow.

"After everything you've done, how could I tell him I am you?" *Dean asked with another deep sigh and popped open the other bottle. He hung his head low and just stared at the floor. This situation, this whole world was draining him. A part of him wanted to get back to his brother, another par wanted to stay here and it tore him apart. He could only hope it wouldn't literally tear him apart like before.

Lucifer sighed deeply, a comforting and a sad look on his face. He glanced back at Jack, heavy emotions wearing him down. A part of this was his fault, he knew that. And not just because of Sam, who right now liked him just a bit more than his brother, not that he actually liked either of them. Lucifer just was a bit more bearable now.

No, it wasn't just because of Sam. It was because of Jack too. It was obvious the kid felt lonely and almost conjured himself a father-figure. And as much as it hurt Lucifer to find out it was a Dean Winchester who was a perfect role model for Jack, he could help but feel somewhat hopeful. For it was not just a Dean Winchester, it was also a *Lucifer. Maybe, there is hope for him afterall. Hope he might build a relationship when this was all over. Speaking of...

"Fine. – Lucifer said looking back at *Dean, crossing his arms – I'll see if I could persuade Michael to help. But my advice to you... – and *Dean looked up at him – ... is to tell Sam the truth. Before Michael does." He gave *Dean a nod and glanced at Jack once more. The kid was looking up at him this time, his look so apologetic, so sad Lucifer felt another jolt to the heart. Still, he gave him a comforting smile, wishing it could be a hug, but they weren't there... Yet.

*Dean and Jack parted ways in front of Jack's room, *Dean wishing him sweet dreams and Jack replying in the same matter. *Dean gave the kid a smile before he walked away. Little did he know, his dreams would be nothing but sweet.

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After finally getting some food in his stomach and getting back to their motel room, of course making sure Ripper stayed outside, Dean practically threw himself on the bed, making *Sam huff a smile. "What?" Dean asked, raising his head just enough to eye that version of his brother. *Sam's lips curled into a one-sided smile, but all he replied was "Nothing."

Dean rolled his eyes, feeling annoyed he would have to get up and look *Sam straight in the eyes only to give him a stern go-on-spit-it-out glare. *Sam rubbed the back of his neck, like he always did when he felt slightly nervous, and unwillingly huffed another laugh. "It's just... You are almost exactly like him. The way you move, the expressions you make, the way you drive... Heck, even the way you eat."

"Yeah – Dean said with seriousness in his voice – I'm just like your brother. Minus the Devil." and he could see it was a mistake to say it. *Sam's face turned to sadness and he turned away to try and find something in his bag. But he wasn't really looking for anything, he was trying to distract himself.

Dean huffed, annoyed at himself. His mouth sure worked a bit quicker than his brain. "I... I didn't mean it like that." *Sam turned to face him; pulling up a fake smile as he took his PJ's and said "It's fine." Before any further words could be spoken, *Sam scurried off to the bathroom and shut the door.

Dean breathed out heavily as he slumped back in the bed, feeling so tired he could sleep for a week. He started to doze off, when the sound of the bathroom door opening made him flinch and he could hear *Sam say "We should probably leave tomorrow. We... *Dean and I finished the hunt a few days ago..."

Dean just waved his hand in the air at him, speaking in the pillow he had rolled on "Yeah, yeah... Don't stay in town long after the hunt is done, I know..." and with that he dozed off again. *Sam stood for a second, looking at the figure in his brother's bed. He sighed as he turned to his own bed, feeling bad he didn't actually miss his brother. To him it felt like he had never left. And the thought scared him.

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Dean opened his eyes only to be welcomed by a fiery red sky above him. He glared at it, baffled. His hands fell to the ground and he was surprised to feel sand under his fingers. Dean pushed himself up, quickly scrambling up to his feet, his entire body on high alert. What world was he in now?

Endless dessert spread as far as the eye could see, with the exception of a tall sand dune that stood before him, like it was set there to be a wall, a barrier he wasn't meant to pass. But what else was there to do? Even if he hadn't considered upon passing over it, he had to after he heard voices coming from the other side. Very familiar voices.

Moving forward, he slowly started climbing the dune, wind picking up its pace more and more the closer he came to the top. And just as he was about to reach it, he could hear a voice in the wind whispering "Home." He frowned, but pushed forward, needing to see what was it that was on the other side.

"I don't understand – Dean heard his own voice speak up – why? I thought you... I thought we were happy. We finally found a family. We finally found a reason to live, to fight... We found love... Why are you so willing to throw all that away?" And there he was, standing in front of himself, and Dean couldn't believe his eyes. Two more of his look-a-likes stood further away, in a base of what seemed like a small oasis, with just one little tree-sprout in the middle.

"I am not throwing it away lightly – the Dean that had his back turned to the 'real' Dean said – but there are things pulling me, pulling us there. I have spent so many years wondering the earth, half-dead. All of my brothers and sisters abandoned me when He cast me down. But that world... That world is different because..."

"... Because of your son." *Dean stated it as a fact, his expression a mix of anger and fear. "But what about *Sam? What about our brother? Our purpose?"

"You have a Sam there too. And as for our *Sam... – the other Dean stated strictly – he will be fine. There are no big demons in play anymore, no angelic interference... And besides... He has him." He said pointing in Dean's direction and Dean gasped when he saw himself turn around. Everything, every feature, every line, every freckle was the same. All but the colour of those fiery red eyes and Dean knew. That wasn't his double out there. That was *Lucifer.

"Why don't you join our little debate?" *Lucifer asked, an unfamiliar smirk gracing his face. Dean approached, careful and wary, slight shock in his expression. Needless to say his actual double shared his expression.

"How..." Dean began, shifting his gaze from *Lucifer to *Dean and then back at *Lucifer. "Welcome to our dreams. - *Lucifer said raising his brows for a second – Like the scenery?" He asked motioning his hands wide in a matter to demonstrate the desert around them. But then he smiled devilishly at him and he added "Should have known you were a smart one. You already managed to alert Jeremiel, haven't you?"

He waved his hand in dismissal at Dean's baffled expression and turned to face *Dean once again. "I want to stay – he said more pleading then ordering – that kid needs us."

"He already has a father." *Dean replied, trying to reason with the devil.

"Not the kind he deserves." *Lucifer claimed.

All the while, Dean just stood aside, not believing what he was seeing, what he was hearing. It took him a few moments to snap out of it, to pull himself together and when he did, he almost charged at *Lucifer, anger building up so fast, all he saw was red.

"You son of a bitch! – he shouted in *Lucifer's face and *Dean was surprised by his courage or stupidity – you get your ass back here and send me back there, you hear me?"

*Lucifer tilted his head mockingly as he asked "Or what?" But when no response came he continued "Hey, it's not like I can do something about this. I am a mere human now." He sounded so pleased with that fact at that point, Dean felt as though he was so close to punching the Devil in the face. But there was just something in those lava-filled eyes. Something that strangely enough didn't scare him, but rather had a soothing effect.

So Dean took a deep breath, leaving *Lucifer's personal space and the decided his actual double might be more reasonable. "Sam, my Sam knows how to fix this. Talk to him..."

But *Dean just hung his head low, words trembling as they exited his mouth "I... I can't." He looked up at Dean and when he met his questioning gaze he glanced at *Lucifer and added "I can't tell him who I am."

Dean rolled his eyes at this, not understanding why this *Dean was, as his mind contemplated, such a wuss. But he still took a deep breath, calming down and said sounding almost comforting "He would understand. He would want to help. If for no other reason, then to get me back."

"Why would you want to go back? - *Lucifer interrupted – Wouldn't our world be more appealing? No big bads, no demons, no angels to mess with your head? Just the open road, back to back hunts with your brother?"

Dean gave him a deep glare, clearly pissed at those words "He isn't my brother. He is your brother! – and it was like Dean knew exactly what button to push – He is your responsibility! " Whether he was projecting or not, it didn't matter. He hit a nerve, and those fiery eyes turned a brighter shade of red, *Lucifer's hand extending into the air in Deans direction. Dean felt a sudden jolt in his lungs and then he was launched back over the dune.

Next thing Dean knew, he was waking up, covered in sweat but otherwise feeling physically fine. Except the fact that his head was in *Sam's lap, his brother's very worried and pale face looming over him. He frowned at him, pulling himself up but flinched when *Sam asked "You dreamt about him, didn't you? You met him?"

"Why would you say that?" Dean asked, gathering his thoughts like he did so many times after he had one of those after-Hell nightmares.

"Your entire body went into shock, just like... Just like *Dean's did when *Lucifer started to break free." *Sam stated, his eyes still looking worried, but curious at the same time.

Dean ran his hand over his face, taking in deep breaths and finally replied, his answer not easing *Sam's mind. "Yeah, I met him. And your brother too. Seems like *Lucifer doesn't want to come back."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the previous chapter you saw a glimpse of what poor *Dean was up against in the original story. And *Lucifer wasn't always that nice. That dream dessert, the scenery and everything about it, even the way Dean woke up, belongs to Rae666 and the Lucifer story. Brings a new meaning to the phrase "fighting your inner demon".
> 
> That said, here is another note/ fair warning. Things are about to get a bit more complicated.

Dean dragged himself to his feet as he got out of the bed and looking very tired, he went over to his bag. He ransacked it until he found clean enough clothes. Dean glimpsed at *Sam, who still had a worried expression, still sitting on Dean's bed, still trying to wrap his head around what Dean told him. *Lucifer wasn't gonna let his brother come back to him.

*Sam looked up at Dean, his eyes watery and Dean gave him a comforting nod, the look that said they were gonna figure it out. "I'm just gonna take a shower and then we'll hit the road." He said, remembering they were in that town way too long. *Sam nodded back and hung his head low as Dean proceeded to the bathroom.

Few minutes after *Sam was still in the same position, sad and worried and just as the water started running in the bathroom, *Sam flinched having heard a scuffle in the closet of their room. He wasn't quite sure what he heard, but still he grabbed his gun and slowly started to approach the closet. Second after second, he could hear his heart start to pump faster and faster, but his mind focused and wary and just as he was about to turn that knob, the closet door swung open and nearly hit him.

He stumbled backwards, trying to regain balance, but the gun was still firmly in his hand and when he finally caught his footing, he looked up at the door. There stood a man in a blue suit, slick hair, a bit pale and panting. The man shut the closet door behind him and looked up at *Sam. It took *Sam a moment to pass the shock and he had his gun raised at the man in a second.

"Who are you?" "Are you John Winchester?" Both men yelled at the same time and neither knew who spoke what. "What?" "What?" They said again in unison and rolled their eyes at each other in the same manner. *Sam tilted his gun, gesturing the man to speak first. The man took a deep breath, calming himself and then asked "Are you John Winchester?"

*Sam's heartbeat rose up again after hearing that question, and he squinted his eyes at the man, considering what he might be. But all the demons in this world knew John Winchester to be dead. Could he be something else? And *Sam's eyes widened at a thought that crept inside his head. Could he be from another world? "You need to tell me right now, it is of grave importance! ARE YOU JOHN WINCHESTER?" The man repeated the question emphasising every word, keeping his glare at *Sam, expecting an answer.

*Sam grasped hearing the question again, and he leaned his head backwards to the bathroom door, still carefully watching the man. "DEAN?!" He yelled out almost nervously and the man before him rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I really need to speak to John!" the man stated, but all *Sam did was call out to Dean once again.

"What?!" Dean walked out sliding a shirt over his wet hair. He already put his pants on and all that was left was to wipe the water out of his hair, like he always did, never liking the hair drier. Unfortunately for him, he wouldn't get a chance to do it this time. His eyes widened at the sight of a very familiar man in front of him and all he could let out was "Holy crap!"

" I do not have time for this. I need to find John Winchester!" the man claimed heading out for the exit, not caring about the gun aimed his direction. Wouldn't be the first and judging by *Sam's freaked out expression, wouldn't be the last.

"*Henry, wait!" Dean shouted out, his face turning just a bit pale and the man flinched at the sound of his name. He turned around and stared at Dean. He wasn't all that confused, he knew the spell must have worked and that John had to either be the guy with the gun, or not far from that room. But he was confused at the question Dean asked. "Did you wipe the spell of the door?"

*Henry went from being slightly confused by the question, then considering it, and then finally completely pale. He didn't need to give the answer, Dean already knew it. So as quickly as he could, he grabbed a chair and slanted it against the closet door. He looked at a very baffled *Sam and almost yelled at him "We gotta move. Now!"

They grabbed their stuff and were just at the door when the closet swung open, its door coming out of their hinges. They turned around, *Henry looking scared, *Sam more confused, but Dean... Dean had that angry spiteful look on his face. Facing them was a beautiful redhead in a nice summer dress and a very red lipstick on that wicked smile. "*Henry, darling. It is not nice to leave a damsel waiting." she said darting all three men with her eyes.

*Henry took a firm step forward, slight anger passing his eyes as he stated "Leave Josie's body now, you vile creature." and Dean frowned thinking he could hear a growl in *Henry's voice.

'Josie' took a step forward to, those lust-filled lips curling into a vicious smirk. "Wow. Never expected such high compliments from you. But enough with the pleasantries. Give me the box!" She tilted her head, inspecting the look on *Henry's face. He seemed so fearless at that moment, almost like he could stop her from claiming what she wanted and it amused her.

"You are not getting it." Dean said firmly, glaring at that familiar face. He could hear the scratches at the door behind him and he slowly took a step back.

"Oh, really? – the redhead asked huffing a laugh – and who is going to stop me? You?"

Reaching the knob of the door Dean smirked at *Abaddon, a foe he knew all too well, and said "Ough, I already did. And I will again. But right now... I just need to slow you down." and he opened the door, letting Ripper storm in and charge at the threat. Dean wasn't sure who he was protecting, and he didn't care. The dog would buy them enough time to get out of there.

Within seconds, the three men were inside the Impala, leaving the motel behind them. Ripper managed to smoke out of the dog and run and hide, feeling glad he could help out. And *Abaddon, her dress ripped, her hair a mess and her lipstick smeared ran out of the room, stomped her foot and hissed watching them drive away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael was curled up in the corner of the cage, sobbing and breathing heavily. The same cage he shared with his brother, the same cage his father and later his brother abandoned him in and for him it truly felt like he was there, like he has never left. He was all alone again or at least he felt like it as the Hell storm raged outside, every strike of the thunder making him flinch.

Lucifer stood on the other side, leaning on the bars of the cage observing his brother with a compassionate expression. He sighed deeply, knowing just how much this whole situation was hurting his brother. Every time he lost control, he would fall asleep and end up in a dream. Or more like in a nightmare.

The same nightmare he repeated over and over again. In the cage, alone and scared. Abandoned. And every time it hurt Lucifer to see him like that, knowing well, a part of it was his fault. So every time, he would try to wake him up by showing him he is there, with him, for him. There to set him free. Even if it meant staying in the cage as Michael assumed control.

Lucifer supposed it was because of the way that vessel was reconstructed, parts of the cage embedded deep inside Nick. He never would have offered to share the vessel if he knew what it would do to Michael. He slowly waked to him and crouched by his side, setting his hand on Adam's knee.

"Michael. – he whispered – Michael, it's me. It's Lucifer." and Adam's teary eyes shot up at the Devil, and he glared at him for a moment, making sure he really was there. His face twisted in pain, and he threw himself in Lucifer's arms screaming the word "Brother."

And Lucifer grasped at that. Michael never did that before. Nor did Lucifer feel that tiny body shiver like that before. He freaked out a bit, but still hugged him tight, feeling just a bit awkward. "It's ok. I'm here. I'm here." He repeated, trying to assure Michael.

"You came... You came..." Michael whispered, still sobbing in Lucifer's chest. When he felt Lucifer loosen the hug, he looked up at him, fear and confusion in his eyes.

Lucifer took a deep breath, looking down at his brother as he set his hand on his shoulder. "Michael. You need to wake up. This... None of this is real. It is just a dream." he said.

"No, no... – Michael shook his head – no it's not!" He said backing away from Lucifer, like he was a threat to him. "No, you are lying... I... I can feel the cage around me, it is there... You... You are just trying to trick me..." Lucifer frowned at Michael, confused. He always managed to wake him up. What happened now, why was he like this?

Could it be that the hope of freedom finally broke him? The fact that they were so close of fixing this mess with that pearl and when they failed, Michael just lost it?

"You are an illusion, that's what you are..." Michael said, nodding his head. He got up, trying so damn hard to pull his thoughts together and he leaned on the wall of the cage, setting his head on a bar. He closed his eyes firmly and thought if he focused enough, the hallucination would be gone. "I am alone." he whispered.

Lucifer's expression changed to a very worried one, as he stared at his brothers back. He felt a strong pain in his chest as he made a decision. He would have to try so damn hard to wake him up this time and for what? For him to lose it again when he found out about *Dean? No, it was too dangerous. He didn't know how Michael would react and he didn't want to add to his pain. So with a heavy heart, he got up on his feet, sighed and vanished.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What are you doing up at one in the morning?" Lucifer asked Jack as he turned on the lights in the kitchen and found Jack sitting at the table eating cereal. "And why are the lights off?"

Jack smiled sheepishly looking down at the bowl. "Sam doesn't like it when I eat this stuff – he glanced at the box of Captain Crunch – he says it will rotten my teeth."

Lucifer smiled at that and sat at the table opposite of Jack. He picked up the box and glanced at it before setting his attention to the kid. "So you thought you could come here at night and eat some while he's asleep?" Lucifer asked still smiling amusingly at Jack. The kid had a busted expression, but a smile on his face. "Sneaky little devil, aren't you?" Lucifer added and they both burst out laughing.

But after calming down, Lucifer sighed and Jack could see there was something on his mind. "What's wrong?" he asked, genially concerned. Lucifer met Jack's gaze and stared at his eyes for a few moments before sighing again.

"It's Michael. It's getting worse, he's getting worse. And if we don't find a solution soon..." he trailed of, not really wanting to consider what might happen. He averted his eyes, looking somewhere distant, but flinched and looked back at Jack when he set his hand on Lucifer, a compassionate look in his eyes, that quickly turned to guilt.

"I'm sorry – he said – It's my fault. If I hadn't taken that pearl, and accidentally used it, you might have..." Jack's expression turned into a sad one and he pulled his hand away, bringing it slowly to his lap.

Lucifer grabbed that hand, and looked straight into Jack's eyes "Hey. This is not your fault, don't think that. You couldn't have know... Besides, if anyone is to blame, it would be me. If I hadn't suggested Michael and I share a vessel..."

Jack interrupted him, repeating his own words to him "You didn't know this was gonna happen." Lucifer smiled at his son, that proud look in his eyes, but this problem still written on his face.

"So... – Lucifer said picking back up the box of cereal – Captain Crunch, huh? Let's see..." He poured some in his hand and looked at it for a second before throwing it in his mouth. He started to chew, letting the aromas fill his mouth. "Um... Crunchy... And there is chocolate..." He said smiling and crewing, but soon his face turned into disgust. "Eeeewww. Are those raisins?"

Jack laughed at Lucifer's expression, and Lucifer couldn't help but smile back.

After an hour of talking and laughing, Lucifer could see the kid was getting tired, and he suggested he could try and get some sleep. Jack greeted him with a smile and a simple "Good night." before exiting the kitchen and heading down the hallway, still smiling.

He flinched and his expression turned serious as he walked passed *Dean's door and heard him shouting something. He slowly leaned on the door, trying to listen in, but he couldn't make anything out. So he reached for the knob and turned it silently. He didn't want to suddenly wake *Dean up and end up shot, remembering well he tried something like that a while back, in that cowboy motel, on that ghoul case that started it all. Back when he accidentally killed a guard and started this whole alternate realities business.

What he found in *Dean's room scared the hell out of him. *Dean appeared to be having a nightmare, but it was so much more than that. He was covered in sweat, tossing and turning, twitching in the bed. His hands stiffed up, his breathing erratic, and he looked like he was having an attack. The tremors didn't even tone down when Jack rushed to him, pulled his head slightly up and screamed his name, in an attempt to wake him up.

Lucifer ran into the room second after looking frantic, having heard Jack yell. He was surprised by the sight that welcomed him, and he rushed by *Dean's side. Ever since he said yes to Michael, he hadn't used his grace, nor Michaels when he was in control. He was trying to assure Michael he was better now, make him see it is ok to let go once in a while, not that it did any good.

But seeing that desperate look on his son's face, he knew he had to do something. So he reached out his hand, set two fingers on *Dean's sweaty forehead and closed his eyes, concentrating. *Dean's eyes shot open, but instead of that emerald green, they were lava-red and Jack gasped a mere second before Lucifer was thrown on the other side of the room by some invisible force.

*Dean closed his eyes again, and when he opened them, they were green again and he took a deep breath, like he had been under water, downing this whole time. He shot up in a sitting position and looked around the room, as if he was remembering where he was. Still breathing heavily, he looked up at Jack and then at Lucifer, who was trying to get up, huffing grunting. He swallowed hard, the look in his eyes apologetic and simply stated "He doesn't want to go back. *Lucifer doesn't want to go back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explaination for the raisins in the cereal: See, where I am from, cereal isn't a common thing to eat, so I had no idea what types there are. But that is sooooo boring. So I will steal another explanation from a dear reader of mine that said "Makes you wonder if those were mouse droppings in the cereal that Lucifer got and made him think it were raisins." LMAO. VegasGranny, your comments are pure gold.


	9. Chapter 9

Willie Nelson's song "On the road again" purred from the Impala's radio, making Dean roll his eyes and turning the radio off. *Sam was still in the passenger seat, looking at Dean and *Henry in confusion, but *Henry was leaning forward, his arms set across the front seat, with a perky smile on his face. He was glaring at *Sam, slight pride in his eyes, and *Sam felt uncomfortable.

"My, my, have you grown." *Henry said to *Sam, thinking he must be John, because the other guy was called Dean. His mind made this complex conclusion that if they knew who he was, they knew everything. He made an assumption that he managed to return to the past and tell his son what had happened to him in the future, so that he might know to expect it.

"He ain't John." Dean stated plainly, his eyes still fixated on the road. In his head he was cursing a lot, at the other *Dean, at *Lucifer, at everyone he could think of.

Confusion flashed on *Henry's face and he looked at Dean with wide eyes. "Then how... I don't understand... The spell should have..." he mumbled but Dean interrupted him.

"You put a bit too much of this, or a bit too little of that, I don't know. But the spell worked. Only it brought you to the next generation. He is Sam and I am Dean. Winchester." *Henry breathed out and leaned back on the seat, considering it. Those are his grandchildren. But business comes first. "No matter – he said after a second – you are Men of Letters as well. I am here to..." he started and Dean interrupted again.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You are here to give us the key to the bunker." Dean said and when he caught the confused look first on *Henry's, then on *Sam's face, he sighed deeply. He hated having to explain things over and over... "The box you are carrying contains a key. The key opens the Men of Letter's bunker in Lebanon, Kansas, where all the knowledge and weapons and whatnot they acquired over the years collects dust. And we aren't really Men of Letters. We are hunters."

*Henry listened carefully, like an operative being filled in on an operation, but he grasped when he heard that last line. "But hunters... They are savages..."

"Yeah, well, things tend to change after sixty years, gramps." Dean said with a smirk, remembering that same reaction from his own grandfather. At least this one died for them. The other one tried to kill them. *Sam on the other hand was still a bit confused, and he gave Dean a suspicious look. Did this version of his brother called this man gramps, cuz he's old, and from the past? And Dean caught that look and read into it just like he read into every look his own brother gave him. "Yeah. – he added talking to *Sam – He's our grandfather."

*Sam was clearly surprised by this information, and he looked back at *Henry, who gave him a kind smile. Ok, that's weird - *Sam thought – But we have seen weird before. He assured himself and nodded, giving his granddad an awkward smile before turning to face the road. "Where are we headed?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Lebanon, Kansas." Dean replied, and everyone knew he actually meant the bunker he mentioned before. It wasn't just the fact that Dean considered the place to be his home, it was also a safe, warded place, and he knew it would take Abaddon a while to find them there, if she even ever did. He sighed, knowing they had an enemy on their tail and no real way of stopping her. There was no way in hell he was taking up the mark again.

And then something in his head clicked and he glanced at *Sam and asked "You... you mentioned the colt before..." And Dean didn't get a chance to finish, having been interrupted by *Henry.

"You mean Samuel Colt's revolver? Oh, I have read about that. Supposedly it can kill any monster in the world."

"Actually there are a couple of things it can't kill. Angels for starters, and God and his sister too. – Dean replied annoyingly and turned to *Sam again – you said you had it. Where is it now?"

Dean's eyes sparkled as *Sam replied it was in fact in the trunk of the car, but his smile was whipped away when *Sam claimed it was useless now and that they kept is as a memento. Dean sighed remembering that Dagon, a prince of Hell destroyed theirs before Jack was born and he thought something similar must have happened here too. He shook his head, he hoped it was still usable and could take down a knight of Hell.

"Um, excuse me... - *Henry interrupted Dean's thoughts – Angels are real? And God has a sister?" He looked so surprised and the question was so sincere Dean just had to laugh.

"I forgot you were just getting accepted into the Men of Letters. You still got a lot to learn." And he smiled again, picturing himself teaching his own grandfather a thing or two about the supernatural life. But he blinked a couple of times and a thought crawled into his mind.

He didn't have time to get attached to his own grandfather; he died before they even got to know him properly. He wasn't even all that hurt to see him gone. But he was family and he did give his life for them. And Dean will be damned if he let that happen again. He held the upper hand now. He knew their enemy. And he knew one way of containing her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What happened?" Sam asked seeing Lucifer and Jack walking out of *Dean's room. He too heard *Dean shouting and some ruckus coming from his room, so he jumped out of his bed, and still half asleep charged towards his brothers room, gun in his hand. He lowered the gun when he saw nothing but familiar faces.

"Just a nightmare, that's all." Lucifer lied and *Dean looked at him, thankful. "Why don't all of you go back to bed and get some more sleep? I will go and see how are things upstairs." Lucifer added, referring to Heaven. He had to tell Gabriel what was going on, with *Dean and with Michael as well.

"You ok?" Sam asked *Dean, the constant need to make sure was ever present and when *Dean nodded, still not fully making eye-contact, Sam said "Ok, I'm getting back to bed. Jack, you coming?" Jack looked back at *Dean, worry and confusion, fear and sadness all in his look, but Sam's tired eyes never caught a glimpse of that, and Jack nodded, and left in the direction of his room. Sam gave *Dean a small smile and when he left too, closing the door behind him, *Dean fell back into his bed and sighed deeply. What the hell was he gonna do now?

A couple of hours later and some more sleep, Jack was sitting at the kitchen table looking down at his hands that were in his lap while Sam was preparing breakfast. *Dean woke up, after a normal, not so resting sleep and dragged himself to his feet. He looked around the room like he was trying to make sure where he was, and sighed. Yeah, he was still there. In Dean's room, in the bunker, surrounded by memories, some of those weren't even his.

A picture of the boys with Bobby in a wheelchair he hadn't seen before, Ellen and some cute blond he never met. His mother and him hugging her, back when he was three or four. A gun, Colt .45 caliber under his pillow he cherished, having received it as a gift from his father. A strange axe-like weapon with some spikes in the handle he has never used. His amulet hanging on a picture of him and Sam and their dad. And a melted down Colt that was used to tear his soul apart. The same colt he used to end *Azazel.

He shook his head, sending those memories away, burring them deep down and then his stomach growled back at him. Food. Yeah, that's what he needed. Food and some coffee. So he left those memories in that room that wasn't his and went towards the kitchen.

"Morning." Sam said, leaning over Jack's plate, filling it with egg whites and grilled vegetables, making Jack frown in slight disgust. *Dean almost whispered the return greeting, and went over to the coffee maker. He barely managed to pour some coffee in his mug when Sam approached him, and as if he was avoiding him, he brushed passed him and sat at the table opposite Jack, holding the mug with both hands and hiding his face behind it.

Sam blinked in surprise, but shook the feeling off as he picked up a plate of eggs and bacon and setting it in front of *Dean. His brother still held the mug at his face when he mumbled "Thanks." and Sam frowned at that. Something was up with *Dean and Sam wanted to know what. He opened his mouth and was just about to speak, when they heard a familiar voice calling them. "Sam? Dean? Where are you?"

Well, familiar to Sam and Jack, not to *Dean. Not quite. He did remember hearing it a long time ago, like in a dream long forgotten. And yet, it rang inside his mind, awaking some long forgotten emotions and he had no idea why. But the minute he laid his eyes on her, his heart started pumping harder and harder threatening to take a leap out of his chest. His entire body was covered in cold sweat within a second, and his eyes went as wide as the saucers. Impossible, he thought.

At yet, there she was, standing in front of them, smiling and holding the grocery bags, not seeming a day older than the picture he was looking at just minutes ago. His mother. The one that died trying to protect *Sam from the old yellow-eyes. The same one he refused to kill, knowing what the repercussions might be. His mother.

Mary came into the kitchen with a wide smile on her face, happy to see her boys again. She had been going on hunts, teaming up with some of the hunters from the other world they brought back. Them having her back and her teaching them a thing or two about regular monsters, not like the ones back in their world. Here, demons didn't have horns, werewolves didn't have more hair then a regular person and vampires didn't have dried up skin, pointy ears and a starved body.

"Mom. – Sam said as a form of a greeting – How'd the hunt go?" He asked taking the grocery bags from her with one hand and giving her a short hug with the other. He didn't notice the look on *Dean's face, nor the shivering of his body. Sam turned to put the bags down on the counter and *Dean approached Mary and gave her a big, clenching hug. Slight confusion passed Mary's face, but she hugged him back, looking over at Jack, seeing the nervousness in the kid's eyes. Jack started coughing as a means to divert at least Sam's attention.

His mother. She was here. Alive. Safe. The sound of Jack coughing brought him back to reality and it hit him hard. This wasn't his mother. This was the other Dean's mother. So he quickly released her and pulled back, a nervous and sad look in his eyes. Sam caught the end of that hug, and though it felt a bit strange, he still said with a smile on his face "That bad of a nightmare, huh?" trying to tease *Dean. Like he was a child who needed his mommy for comfort after a bad dream. He expected a dirty look or some words of recoil for that comment.

He did not expect *Dean's posture to shrink down, his eyes to dart the ground, and he did not expect *Dean to walk out of the kitchen with an excuse that he was tired. And he certainly did not expect him to leave his breakfast untouched. Something is definitely up with him, Sam knew for sure.

"I'll talk to him." Mary said recognizing the look in Sam's eyes that followed his brother out of the room, and she left the kitchen in a quick pace, trying to catch up with *Dean. Sam sighed. Sure, it wasn't the end of the world, but with all the things they had going on with Michael and Lucifer and Heaven threatening to fall apart, the last thing he needed was for something to be wrong with *Dean.

Jack was trying so hard to hide the guilt on his face and he dug into his breakfast, wanting to clean the plate as fast as he could so he would have an excuse to leave too. Sam glanced over him, but hadn't noticed anything aside from the fact that Jack must have been hungry if he was eating those egg whites so fast.

*Dean sat heavily on the bed in 'his' room and leaned his head into his hands. He was an emotional wreck right now. There was that part of him that wanted this Dean's life and everything that came with it. The kid, the mother, the brother, a home. But deep down he knew it wasn't his, he felt like he was stealing it from the other Dean and everywhere he looked, he would be reminded of that. And then there was that part of him that was worried about his own brother, that part that needed his *Sam by his side. And those two parts just wouldn't reconcile and find a way out of this situation.

The knock on the door startled him, and he looked up at those doors like there were concealing a death sentence. Was he busted? Did Sam notice how tight he hugged Mary? They were close, that Dean and this Sam, this version of his brother would know something's up, just like his own brother would. "Come in." he said feeling his voice cracking.

There was a bit of relief when he saw it was Mary, but not enough to wash away the feeling of guilt he had for taking up her son's place in this world. Still with a smile on her face, she slowly approached him and like she knew the reason he wasn't looking her in the eyes, she sat on the bed and patted his leg to draw his attention to her.

Finally he looked at her, his eyes a bit watery, and her smile widened, sending out a comforting message and as if she knew what he needed, she hugged him tight and long. The warmth of her hug, he comfort of it, the love in it made *Dean break into tears. He clung onto her shirt, never wanting to let go.

He pulled away after a few minutes, wiping of his tears before she could see them. "I'm sorry, I... I don't know what came over me." He said, wanting to sound serious and stern. Again, he looked away and tried to get up.

Mary set her hand on his shoulder, tightening the grip just enough for him to know she wants him to stay there, and he looked back at her. "It's ok... I know..." she whispered and despite that she still had that warmth in her eyes. Even though she hasn't always been a part of her son's life, he is still her son. And deep down she can tell him apart, especially when they hug her like she has been gone most of their life.

"You... you know?" *Dean asked, eyes wide, terrified. But there was no hate in her eyes, no anger, just comfort and love.

Her lips curved into another smile as she said "You're not the first Dean to give me that kind of a hug." *Dean opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words so she kept talking "It's ok. I don't know what happened, or if you are..." she slightly trailed of remembering meeting a version of her other son that wasn't fully human, but decided to push past the idea.

"Doesn't matter. – she continued – What matters is that, even though I might not be your mother, I am still here for you. If you need me." The was so much warmth and acceptance in those words and in her eyes, both sides of *Dean were completely astounded and at a loss for words.

A buzzing sound interrupted the moment and she pulled her phone out of her pocket and glanced over it. "That's Dominic – she said like the name was supposed to mean something to *Dean – He... Um... He is a friend... A hunter. He has a lead on some of the vampires that fled the nest we just destroyed. I... I have to go..." She said, but her eyes bore the question if she indeed could go. One word. All he had to say is just one word and she would stay.

*Dean took a deep breath, like he hadn't had any air in his lungs she walked in 'his' room and nodded at her, his eyes telling her it was ok for her to go. She got up and when she reached the door; she turned her head towards him. There was slight worry evident in her eyes as she asked "But my Dean is coming back?" Not that she wanted him to feel unwelcome, but she still worried about her son, her real son.

The scales tilted and the two parts that were opposite each other now found a bit of common ground, one part prevailing over the other. There was no way any part of him would want to see her hurt. So with a firm voice, *Dean replied "I'll make sure of it."


	10. Chapter 10

For a couple of hours *Dean paced inside his room, trying to figure out how to tell Sam. At the same time, Sam was doing more book-reading, lore-searching for something, some way to separate the two archangels; all the while throwing glances in the direction of his brother's room. Contemplating whether he should try and talk to him or wait him out.

Usually, Sam would simply wait for him to come out for beer, coffee, food. And usually his brother would have come out by now. The more time passed, the less focused Sam was on reading and more worried about his brother.

Finally, something snapped inside him and he stood up, determination written on his face, and he took firm steps towards the bedrooms. Just as he reached the entrance to the hallways, he bumped into Jack. "Hey...Jack..." he said and tried to walk away, eyes still looming his brother's door.

"Sam! – Jack exclaimed, quickly figuring out Sam's intentions – Um... Sam?... Can I ask you a question? I... I need some help with... with..." Jack started, very quick on his toes about what he was going to ask. He was about to inquire about fighting and training, one of many questions he had stored, waiting for the right moment to ask, the moment that never seemed to come.

"Yeah... Yeah, Jack... Sure... – Sam interrupted – In a minute, ok? I... I just need to talk to *Dean for a second." He tried to pass the kid and Jack tried to stay in his way.

"Sam, please, just..." Jack tried and if Sam actually took notice, he would recognize the worry and fear in the kid's voice. But he pushed passed him, deciding to ignore him, his eyes still darting the room. In the heat of the moment, not coming up with any better idea, Jack nonchalantly slipped his foot slightly forward and closed his eyes, regretting the decision before he even made it.

Sam stumbled forward, so close on landing on his face, but he managed to stay on his feet and regain his balance. HE gave Jack a stare, more confused than angry. "Jack, why would you..." he started the question, not really sure the kid did it on purpose or not. However, the look on Jack's face said it all. It wasn't the look of apologies after an accident, it was guilt and fear. Sam took a deep breath that didn't quite say he was disappointed, but more worried at what's going through the kid's head.

As he was trying to find the right words to say to Jack, he heard *Dean's voice behind him. "Jack, could you give Sam and me a minute?", the look on his face telling the kid that all will be alright. Of course, *Dean saw what happened and he knew Jack was trying to pull Sam away, but he also knew he couldn't hide anymore.

Jack nodded and went past *Dean towards his room. *Dean gave him a reassuring pat on the back as he walked by. And then, just for a few seconds too long, the brothers stared at each other and in that time it seemed like a showdown was about to start.

Sam huffed a laugh, breaking the staring contest and asked "You feeling better?" expecting *Dean to shrug it off and say that he's fine or some other nonsense like that. Sam looked back at his brother and had to frown at the seriousness of the face staring back at him.

"We need to talk." was all *Dean said as he passed Sam, went through the War Room and into the kitchen. In such a typical way, he headed straight for the fridge and pulled out two bottles of beer. Handing one to Sam, he leaned on the counter and took a huge swing at his own. Sam simply nodded and took a sip of the beer, waiting for *Dean to start, not wanting to push him into it. Neither of them noticed Jack hiding behind a door frame, eavesdropping.

*Dean took a deep breath and huffed it loudly, pouting his lips, and then he looked at Sam, wary on his face. "I'm not your brother." he said and Sam nearly choked on his beer. He gave *Dean a deep stare, unable to determine if he was joking or not.

"What?" Sam asked, eyebrows raised, eyes carefully examining each expression and move *Dean made.

"I am from an alternate universe." *Dean said face blank and emotionless. But inside he was burning with fear of rejection and banishment, slight anger and worry mixed in as well. He expected everything. He expected Sam to ask him to explain further and he would do so, trying to minimize the blame on Jack. It wasn't his fault *Dean swapped places with the Dean of this world.

*Dean knew he would eventually have to tell him who or rather what he was. He would have to look Sam in the eyes and tell him he is his greatest fear reborn and he would take whatever reaction stoically, just for a chance to make things right, set them back in their natural order. Give back the life he had stolen from the other Dean. He would take whatever punch or remark that was thrown his way, he could withstand it.

He didn't however understand why the hell was Sam laughing at him right now.

"Oh... Ok, really funny... You really had me going there for a second..." Sam said still huffing small laughs and it was clear he thought *Dean was just joking. *Dean too huffed a laugh, but his face remained serious, waiting for Sam to catch his breath.

Sam kept laughing a few minutes more, playing with the beer in his hand. A part of him, a voice deep inside was screaming 'please be joking', another part suspicious and extremely worried. He finally looked back at *Dean and frowned at his expression, contemplating, waging, deciding how to react next. With each passing second, it was clear, Sam had another problem on his hands.

Before he could say a thing, his phone rang and Sam pulled the thing out of his pocket to take a look. If it was anyone else, he wouldn't have answered, he would have just let it go to voice mail. But not with his own mother. He would never do that.

"Hey, mom." Sam answered trying to sound calm, his eyes still fixated on *Dean. He thought she was calling about an update on the hunt she was on with Dominic; maybe even ask for some help. He hoped she didn't need help right now, he had *Dean to deal with. All that hope sunk along with his forced smile as he heard a man on the other side.

"Hello, Samuel. No, I am obviously not mommy dearest. But do not worry, she is fine. And she will remain that way if you decide to grant me a request." the voice spoke sounding so slick it sent shivers down Sam's spine. As the man spoke, Sam looked back at *Dean, and just like his own brother, the *Dean in front of him instantly knew something was wrong. He stood upright, looking like he was a high alert, darting Sam and waiting for answers.

"Who is this? And what do you want?" Sam asked his voice filled with anger.

"Oh, my... I do apologize, where are my manners? Name's Kipling. But you can call me Kip. And all I want is to talk."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While still on the road, Dean took out his own gun and popped out the clip handing it to a slightly confused *Sam. "Gramps, can you engrave the devil's traps in these? Sam, give him your clip too." Dean said, but *Sam was still confused. He had no idea such a thing was even possible.

"Sure!" *Henry jumped at the opportunity to be helpful, to busy his hands with something. He took the clip from *Sam and waited for him to pass the other clip from his own gun. He could see the hesitation in *Sam's eyes and the confusion so he decided to ease his mind. "How about this? - *Henry said – I do these bullets in Dean's clip and you do in yours, following my lead? It isn't all that hard, really."

Pleased with the arrangement, *Sam nodded and observed *Henry taking out a small pocket knife and starting to work on the bullets. After the first bullet was done, *Sam happily proceeded onto making his own, still throwing glances at the work *Henry was doing.

"Great – Dean said – there is a gas station a couple of miles ahead. We will stop for gas and get more bullets out of the trunk so that you could work on those too. If we could reach the bunker without running into her, great. If not, we will be ready."

*Henry looked up at him for a moment and asked "Shouldn't we try and contact other chapters, other operatives? I am sure they would provide assistance to our little peril."

Dean huffed an ironic laugh "Little peril? You and I both know Abaddon is anything but that. – and his voice turned just a bit softer – And there is no one to help us. Abaddon killed all the Men of Letters back in your time." It was sad to have to break the news to *Henry like that, but necessary. Not only did he deserve to know, *Dean also wanted to prevent him from trying to reach out. Because if he did, he might find a different establishment than he knew, and Dean certainly didn't need the Brits involved in this. If they existed in this world.

About an hour later, all the bullets were carved just in time as they reached a gas station. *Sam went to fill the car up, and Dean waited in the car with *Henry. When the tank was full, Dean moved the car to the parking lot next to the gas station, positioning the car so that no camera was watching the trunk. All three men walked out and started going through the trunk.

*Henry was a bit impressed by the arsenal they had and *Sam was the one to search the car for more ammo while Dean just observed the contents of the trunk. So much less weapons and amulets and other objects then he had in his baby. Heck, they didn't even have the grenade launcher. But as *Sam moved some maps and spells around, Dean caught a glimpse of a barrel of a very familiar gun.

"Wo, wow... Wait a minute." he said to *Sam, making him stop from going through the trunk and give him a raised eyebrow. Curiously, Dean reached for a paper containing some spells and push it aside. He gasped and his eyes widened as he pulled out the Colt out of the trunk and he looked over it, following every familiar line, his expression going from surprised to joyful to somewhat angry. "You said the gun was useless!" Dean shouted at *Sam. The gun in his hand was whole, perfect, just like he remembered it. Most importantly it was intact, very usable. So why the hell would *Sam claim otherwise?

"It is useless. - *Sam said plainly – what good is a gun if you don't have the bullets for it? You do know it requires special kind of bullets, right?" *Sam looked at Dean and gulped, sensing a storm coming. He took a step back just as Dean began to speak.

"Didn't it occur to you that maybe, just maybe... I know HOW TO MAKE THE DAMN BULLETS?" Dean shouted, desperately needing to relieve some of the tension that has been building up ever since he got to that world. But he quickly regretted it, and after a sigh and a hand that ran across his face he turned to *Sam. "I... I didn't mean to... I'm..."

"Sorry. - *Sam finished his sentence – You're sorry, I know. It's ok, I get it. I am sorry too, for just assuming about the gun..." *Sam's eyes darted the ground, a part of him feeling responsible for Dean's outburst. He picked up two more cases of ammo and head for the car. *Henry watched it all, deciding best not to interfere. So when *Sam walked away, he followed suit. They both sat in the car and after *Sam handed him a box of ammo, they both went to carving.

Dean sighed again. This was his brother, but his brother from a few years back. From the time they still kept secrets from each other, not sharing how they felt about anything. Close, but still at a distance. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Dean wasn't his *Dean, or maybe this *Sam was just naturally like that. And Dean didn't know what to think of it. He could only hope that if they ended up in trouble they would have enough trust for one another to get themselves out. BUt hey, at least they had a way to kill the knight of Hell now.

With heavy footsteps,he walked back to the driver's door, tucking the colt behind his back and opened the door. He slowly climbed in and started the car. A few moments later, they were pulling out of the parking, not noticing a dark shadow following them. It just reached the car when Dean found and opening and managed to turn onto a slightly busy road. The shadow lingered on in the same spot for a few seconds before turning to follow them using shadows and cloaked places.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lucifer walked the hallways of Heaven, looking all around, sadness and nostalgia in his eyes. Sure, the place looked better than before Gabriel decided to return, but it was far from its former glory. The light was still dim, the walls still crumbling, the air stale and the whole of Heaven was empty.

He remembered how it was back in the day, angels busy, running around, completing their tasks. Doing God's work. 'Huh' Lucifer huffed a laugh. They thought they were keeping the balance, maintaining the peace. The angels thought that the world would perish without them and God. Boy, were they wrong.

"At least the souls aren't roaming around free anymore." Lucifer said, not sure if he was trying to console himself, Michael or whoever, he felt this whole situation weighing him down. Because he knew, most of it was his fault. One way or another, it was on him.

He just turned the corner to come up to the throne room when he bumped into Castiel. He had to admit, Cass didn't look as strong nor as powerful as he once was, but he seemed better than he had in a while. Being up in Heaven did him good. The power he gave to maintain Heaven circled right back, reversing the deterioration of his vessel just a bit.

"Michael." Cass said as a form of a greeting, straightening himself up, like a good solider he once was.

"Wrong archangel." Lucifer said and was surprised Cass hadn't rolled his eyes at him like he would normally do lately. Instead, he was greeted with a heavy sigh and a worried look. Cass motion his hand for Lucifer to follow him and they both proceeded to the throne room.

Inside, Gabriel sat on the throne, his expression wrapped in worry and he looked so tired, so drained. He was staring at a small vial that stood on a table to his right, the smallest spec of grace swarming inside. It was the grace they took from that Michael that burnt down the entire world. The apocalypse world as the Winchester's called it. They took his grace and threw him back into his own creation, into his own pit of fire. The world he made almost unliveable for human kind, he would now have to live in as a mere 'mud-monkey'.

When the doors swung opened, Gabriel looked up and frowned. Whenever his brother, Michael came up, the lights shone just a bit brighter, the temperature rose just a bit, making it warm and cosy. Whenever Lucifer was front and center, nothing would change. His grace was too low to help Heaven out. A part of Gabriel blamed Lucifer for that, for all that surrounded him. But deep down, he knew he was just as much guilty as Lucifer was. After all, he was the one that left.

"Why are you here? Did Michael have another one of his episodes?" Gabriel asked, knowing well that if Lucifer was in control of the vessel, Michael certainly was too stressed to lead or to stay awake for that matter.

"This isn't just another episode, Gabe." Lucifer said sadly with his head down. He still had rouble facing his brother. "He is completely under. I can't wake him."

"Just as we feared. – Gabriel said with a sigh – and there is no sigh of a solution, right? The boys found nothing?"

Lucifer rose an eyebrow at the question. Sure there was a turn of events down there, and somehow Lucifer felt that as much as it would seem like a distraction to their current problem, it might also be a solution. Deep down, he felt that it wasn't just some pure chance that brought that *Dean to their world. It seemed meaningful. Hopeful he wouldn't be mocked and turned down, he explained everything to Gabriel and Castiel and suggested they find a way to swap them back.

He said he felt it was somehow important, but couldn't quite explain how. He also told them about that other part of *Dean that wanted to stay, and that he felt that with a bit of convincing, he could pull it off. He could persuade himself to return to his own world. He just asked for a chance.

Gabriel faced a tough decision. If he let Lucifer do what he planned, that would take time, precious time they needed to set Michael free. But on the other hand, they couldn't do it without the boys and they needed them whole and focused. Maybe if they opened a rift and brought Dean back along with that *Sam, four Winchesters could come up with a solution better than two.

After hearing it all, Castiel wanted to go back down, to help, but as Gabriel explained, his toughest connection was with Dean, and he wasn't down there. No, Castiel was needed in Heaven. And Lucifer deserved his chance. It was time he got one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, kind of a slow , filler chapter. I know. But the next one will be a bit more interesting. That is a promice.


	11. Chapter 11

"So, how does it all end?" *Henry asked quietly, leaning forward on the front seat. *Sam was asleep in the passenger seat and Dean felt tired too, but somewhat glad he could at least have someone to keep him awake. They have been driving for about six hours and only had a bit over two hours left. Dean wasn't stopping for rest, not when they were so close to the bunker.

"How does what end?" Dean asked amusingly and curiously.

"This situation with that wretched demon... I know you must know, John must have told you the story I planned on telling him." *Henry said and Dean frowned.

"John... Dad never said anything about you – Dean replied and sighed – except that you left him and his mother when he was a kid."

"But... No... How..." *Henry tried and Dean just had to interrupt that stutter.

"You came to the future and died, that's how. – another heavy sigh – Sorry to break it to you like that, Pops. But Abaddon kills you and you never return to the past. At least you saved us." Dean said as a form of a comfort and glanced at the rear-view mirror only to see a very confused *Henry, darting the ground, considering all he just heard.

Few minutes later, he finally spoke "But then... How... How do you know about me, about Abaddon?" *Henry looked straight into the mirror, right in Dean's eyes.

"That's... Um... That's complicated." Dean said and threw another glance at his grandfather before focusing back on the road. He seemed to be considering things, thinking how to explain. Suddenly he just snapped and said "The hell with it..."

"Look – Dean started – I am not from this universe. I've swapped places with the *Dean of this world. Now, we are working on undoing that, but in the meantime we stumbled on you and Abaddon and...You see, we... We fought her in my world. Fought her and lost you... I will not let that happen again. Any of it." Dean spat out in one breath and waited for a reaction. Needless to say, *Henry was stunned by all this information and it took him a fair amount of time to process it.

"How... How did you defeat her?" *Henry finally spoke and Dean huffed a laugh before he replied.

"I took on the Mark of Cain. You know what that is?" and when *Henry shook his head Dean continued "Good. That is something you shouldn't mess with. Anyway, we didn't have the colt back in our world like we do now. I am willing to bet the gun can kill he bitch. I just need a few things to make the bullets for it."

"And those things are in that bunker you mentioned?" *Henry asked curiously, still trying to wrap his head around all what he had heard.

"That and so much more. I think you're gonna like it there. – Dean said and took a deep breath – Listen, Pops, you do know that if you get out of this alive, you can never go back, right? It is not as much as the fact that you might change things, it's just that... I don't know, something, time, angels, nature, fate, whatever won't let you change it, you know? So if you make it this time, I think it would be best if you stayed in the present." Dean explained rather profoundly, trying hard to make sense, to make *Henry understand that staying here, now, was best for him.

*Henry said nothing, only leaned back into his seat, frowning and thinking. Heavy air filled the car and Dean kept throwing glances at the mirror, at *Henry worried how the guy took the news and would he stay in the present for his own good.

"Holly shit!" Dean suddenly exclaimed and hit the brakes, making both *Henry and *Sam getting thrust forward, *Sam jolting awake.

"What... What's going on?" *Sam asked, but Dean only stared outside in front of the car, alerted and somewhat angry. *Sam focused his gaze outside, to see what it was that made Dean come to an abrupt stop. He huffed and smiled as a dark shadow lured in front of them, fury red eyes in dead center of it. Much to Dean's confusion, *Sam opened the car door and got out, walking towards the shadow.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Dean shouted jumping out of the car right after *Sam.

"It's ok. It's just Ripper." *Sam explained and kinda petted the shadow that moved around in the spot. Dean slowly stepped closer, gun in hand, scanning the surroundings before focusing on *Sam and the shadow.

"Why did the damn dog follow us? I'm not his Master." Dean asked frowning at those red eyes that almost seem to levitate by themselves in mid air.

"He's probably trying to protect me... Like my *Dean would want him to. This isn't the first time he decided to follow me around." *Sam replied and looked up at Dean. He was a bit surprised that Dean hadn't lowered the gun and was still inspecting their surroundings. He could feel the man before him worried and alerted, but he couldn't understand why. There was nothing out there.

"Get the dog in the car and let's move." Dean said silently, never looking back at them, eyes still darting all around.

"What is happening?" *Henry asked stepping out of the car, seeing the shadow wasn't hurting anyone and that they were rather friendly with it.

"Get back in the car!" Dean shouted, turning his attention to *Henry for a moment. He glanced back at *Sam and then heard a low growl of the shadow. Next thing he knew, he was thrown back towards the car along with *Sam and the dog. His gun flew away from him as he hit his head on the fender of the car and could feel the warmth of the cut along with the blood oozing out of the wound. His vision blurred for a moment, and he squinted his eyes as dark clouds filled his vision.

*Sam gasped as his body hit the car door, but not at the pain, rather at the black shadows that came swirling out of nowhere, some reaching both him and Dean, but backing away as if they have been burned. He felt a pinch on his skin of his chest and looked down at it, only to remember. And then the realization hit him. Demons. Those were all demons. Without meat-suits. They were trying to posses him and Dean, but Dean must have had the same tattoo *Sam had.

Another gasp escaped him as he looked back at where *Henry stood, but was relieved to see that the dog was somewhat protecting him. *Henry's eyes weren't closed, nor darting around at free demonic form. No, there was fear and a bit of spite in them as he stared right in front of him. *Sam turned to see what *Henry was staring at and his eyes went wide with the sight.

In the middle of the demonic tornado was *Abaddon, walking slowly, her heals tapping loudly at the concrete beneath her. Her outfit was different. She wore black jeans, a top with a cartoon she-devil on it with a sign that said "Hot as Hell." and a leather jacket. Her red hair loose, bouncing on her shoulders, but that blood red lipstick still on her smirking lips, and for a split second *Sam actually admired her beauty.

"I told them he wasn't here. – *Abaddon said – but they wouldn't believe me. Not until they saw for themselves." She looked at the boys before turning her attention to all the demons around. "See. Lucifer isn't here. He left. He is just as pathetic as any human and the first chance he got, he fled. There is nothing stopping us from taking over."

"We will stop you!" *Henry spat out at her and it made her laugh. With noting more than a flick of her hand, he rose from the ground, feeling an invisible force chocking him. He slowly flew towards her until he was face to face, or rather face to chest as he was still up in the air, barely breathing.

"And how do you plan on doing that? – she huffed a laugh at his angry look – You can't even hurt a demon, much less stop me... You know, this little pretty lady here is still around. Screaming at me to let you go. Trying to tell you to run and never look back."

He gasped at the mention of his dear friend whose body *Abaddon was possessing, and his will wavered. He cared deeply for *Josie, maybe a bit more than he was able to admit to himself. *Abaddon could feel that change in his behaviour, so she pushed on, enjoying the torment she saw in his eyes.

"Did you know she begged me to spare your life back at that convent? You didn't even know she offered herself just so that you would live..." She said grinning at *Henry's obvious pain.

"She should have known better – he said sadly – You are a demon that would never keep her word. She should have known not to trust you."

Both *Sam and Dean felt bound to their places on the ground next to the car, unable to move. Dean looked around and saw *Abaddon's focus on *Henry, while all the demons were just swarming around. He saw his gun a few feet away from him and he cursed to himself for dropping it. *Henry was in danger and after she was done with him, she would move on to them. And Dean couldn't let it happen. Any of it.

"*Sam... – Dean whispered glancing over to a version of his brother – you ok?"

"'m fine. - *Sam whispered back, still focusing on *Henry and *Abaddon – what are we gonna do?"

Dean sighed and started looking around, trying damn hard to get an idea. They couldn't move, *Abaddon's power probably holding them in place. He couldn't reach for the gun with devil-trap bullets in it. The dog seemed to be locked in place as well, so he was no help. It took him a few minutes, thinking, trying to come up with any idea, any plan, but ending up dry.

"How didn't I feel them coming?" *Sam let his thoughts out loud unintentionally and Dean frowned more in confusion and realization then in anger.

"You can sense them, can't you?" He asked, remembering his own brother and his powers at the time. His powers were supposed to grow over time even if he didn't use the demon blood, like they did with the other kids, Max, Ava, Andy and others.

"Yeah. I can sense monsters sometimes. Been a while since we encountered demons. - *Sam replied and looked at Dean curiously – why do you ask?"

"So you have dreams that can tell the future and sense monsters. Can you move objects with your mind?" Dean asked looking back at the gun and *Sam read his mind without using any powers.

"No, I... I never... I never tried." He replies sincerely.

"My Sam... His powers grew. Just like yours should. Try, focus on bringing the gun to us." Dean encouraged, hopeful. A part of him hated himself for almost forcing *Sam to be the freak his own brother was, another part screamed at him that neither Sams were ever freaks. And if the version of him in this world was a fallen angel, who is he to judge *Sam for having psychic powers?

"I... I don't think I can do that..." *Sam said without even trying. All these powers scared him, and his *Dean was wary of them, not really liking it when *Sam used them, but grateful when they helped out on a hunt. And now, this Dean was openly asking him to use them. And to use them in a way he had never tried before, never knew he could. It was all a bit overwhelming.

"You can. You just have to focus. If you don't, they are gonna kill us all, right here. – Dean tried to find a soft spot to press, took him a while to find one – Damn it *Sam. If your brother came back to find you dead at the hands of one of Lucifer's knights, how do you think he would feel? He would hate himself for not being there and for being what he was... You really wanna make him go through that?" Spot on, Dean, spot on.

*Sam flinched at the mention of his brother, and felt guilty. He should try harder to find him, to bring him back. But he had to get out of this mess first. So he tried, focusing his mind on the gun, squinting his eyes at it, blocking out all other noises and movements.

"Damn." he said after a few minutes of unsuccessful attempts and had at it again. All the time, Dean tried to focus on the conversation *Henry and *Abaddon were having.

"I still cannot believe how pathetic you humans are. Your little *Josie was foolish enough to offer herself in hopes of saving you. Just one human. And in the process putting everyone else in harm's way as she allowed me access to the Men of Letters." *Abaddon rambled on, seeing just how much her words were hurting *Henry, more than any carving or torture ever could. And she did enjoy a good old fashioned mind torment.

"She... She was just trying to save me..." *Henry barely let out, unable to breath properly, and at the same time he sounded slightly surprised. Everything the demon was telling him, everything he saw happen was proof. Proof of the fact that his friend might have cared for him just a bit more than he knew. And just like that, a new hope arose inside of him and he spat out "I... I will save her..."

*Abaddon actually laughed at his determination. Didn't he realize it was over? Didn't he know he was seconds away from death? "What are you gonna do? Haunt me for beyond the grave?" she laughed in his face, but when she finally toned down, she seemed amused by the idea.

"How about I let you haunt me right now? – she asked with a vicious smile on her face and gestured her hand forward making *Henry fly closer – How about you haunt me while trapped inside your own head?" More cruel ideas popped into her mind and she didn't feel reluctant to share.

"How about I possess you, and let you watch while I drain the life out of her?" she asked raising her brow curiously and smiled again seeing pure horror cover *Henry's face. She leaned into him, grabbing his collar and pulling his lips close. He was too shocked to respond for that split second, and she started pouring her demonic soul into him.

"NO!" – Dean shouted out and tried like hell to loosen up whatever ties were holding him. *Sam flinched at the sound of Dean's voice and gasped when he saw what *Abaddon was doing. His breathing picked up and he knew he had to focus on moving that damn gun.

Possessing *Henry took more time than *Abaddon anticipated, having him recite the exorcism in his mind. That usually wouldn't work when the demon was already inside, but small whispers he could let out kept *Abaddon from fully possessing him. His will wavered as he began to feel overpowered by the demon, and *Abaddon progressed slowly but steadily.

Almost fully inside of him, she let *Josie's lips smirk, her eyes laughing at the man before her until there was a loud bang. Suddenly *Abaddon felt herself being pulled back into *Josie's body, an annoying itch in her foot. Another bang and she was completely back in the previous body she wanted to discard, but what really confused her was her inability to move. And the worst part... She had no control over *Henry, who dropped to the ground, panting, but with a victorious look in his eyes and a gun in his hand.

*Sam's focus was split between the gun and what *Abaddon was doing, and he tried so hard to make the gun move, so much so that blood started running out of his nose. He felt the surge of some weird energy undertake him but he just had to glance at *Henry one last time. Dean was amazed when he saw the gun slowly started to move, to vibrate, a small smile crept on his face, but fell stunned by the fact that the gun wasn't nearing him, rather going away from him. And then suddenly it flew, right into *Henry's hand.

When *Henry felt the gun in his hand, a small relief passed his mind and he closed his heavy eyes, aiming the gun at *Abaddon's heart. Wait... What difference would it make? Shooting her in the heart or in the foot would make no difference to *Abaddon, but it would make a hell of a difference to *Josie. Opening his eyes wide, he muttered a promise, a vow that he will save her. Aiming a gun lower, he shot her in the foot, making her stop from trying to possess him. Another foot and she finally dropped him to the ground.

Bound by the bullets with the devil's trap, she had no idea what was going on. She couldn't move her feet and her powers weren't working.

"I will save you, *Josie!" *Henry said, backing away from her. He knew well enough the bullets wouldn't hold her long and there was the issue with the swarm of demons who luckily haven't figured out what was going on just yet. He ran back to the boys, who were finally able to stand up and all three of them ran into the car.

Dean slammed the door, and then heard a whine outside of his window. He looked out just in time to see the demonic cloud rushing towards them, but a small red-eyed shadow still whimpered. "Oh, for the love of..." He spat out and opened the door, just enough to let the shadow inside before he gassed the car out of there.

They all sighed a small sigh of relief for getting away and at the same time seeing a part of that demonic tornado break away, probably to help *Abaddon out of her situation. Still a small cluster followed them, gaining up on the car. Dean floored the gas pedal, but Baby was no match for black smoke tailing her.

"Shoot down at the road!" *Henry shouted at *Sam and they both leaned out of opposite windows, shooting the bullets *Henry modified down at the ground. Both *Sam and Dean were astounded that the smoke started to break apart, each bullet holding a piece of the black cloud at bay, trapping one or two demons in the spot.

They weren't out of bullets before the demonic storm was out of demons. Finding complete relief, all three of them leaned back in their seats, sighing heavily. Dean glanced at the mirror at his grandfather, somewhat proud and astounded at the same time at his idea of stopping the black smoke. With a smile on his face, he glanced at *Sam, and even though he wasn't really his brother, he was proud of him. Psychic or not, *Sam was still Sam and would always do the right thing.

"Um... Is this a demon?" *Henry asked looking nervously at the red-eyed shadow next to him.

"Nope. That's a hell hound." Dean replied kind of dismissively. Sure the dog helped them back at the motel, but all he managed to do after that is end up being followed, exposing them all.

"A HELL HOUND?! - *Henry practically screamed – why the hell isn't it in Hell?!"

"Cuz his master is missing." Dean simply replied.


	12. Chapter 12

"What is going on?" *Dean asked seeing the look on Sam's face when he finished the conversation. That definitely wasn't Mary on the phone, he was sure. Was she in trouble?

"Nothing." Sam replied giving *Dean a side-eyed glance. Just a minute ago, the *Dean in front of him dropped such a huge bomb, and if it was true, Sam had no idea if he could trust him.

"I might not be your Dean, but I am not stupid. Does someone have mom?" *Dean asked glaring back at Sam. He wouldn't back down. Sam kept quiet, thinking what to do. Mary was supposed to be cleaning up the remains of a vamp nest. If she got captured, why would they want to talk? Why not just kill her, drain her dry. Sam sighed. Whatever this was, it was serious, and he couldn't go in alone. He needed backup.

Seeing the insecurity on Sam's face, *Dean pushed "Whoever it is, whatever is going on, you can go in alone, and you know it. I am still *Dean, I can fight. I am a hunter... And that is a version of my mother out there."

And then it hit Sam. The clenching hug, the sad expression, the food left behind. How could he have been so blind? He saw those emotions before, on another DDean. Seeing a version of his mother alive and knowing it wasn't really their mother, it was heartbreaking just to watch. How could he possibly deny *Dean a chance to help her, to save her?

With a heavy sigh, Sam looked back at *Dean, considering it all for a moment before he pulled a wary smile and said "I wouldn't be able to stop you anyway, would I?"

A genuine smile appeared on *Dean's face as he replied "No, you wouldn't."

"Fine. – Sam said hoping he wouldn't regret it – But what about my Dean? Is he back in your world?" The idea of his brother being trapped in another potentially dangerous world, alone, terrified Sam. The worst part was, he couldn't bring him back right now. He had a missing Mom on his hands and not to mention the fact that Michael was the only one who could give him the grace he needed to save Dean. Would he do it?

"He is. - *Dean replied – He is fine. My *Sam is with him, and there aren't... Well... Life threatening situations there like there are here. No demons, no angels. Everything is simpler back there so I wouldn't worry about him for now. When we find mom, then we could find a way to switch back." *Dean said rather sadly. A part of him still didn't want to leave. So many people here to care about, to be cared about, a real home.

Those words didn't really ease Sam's worry about his brother, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He needed to save Mary first. So he just nodded at his brother's double and headed for the door. He was surprised to find Jack on the other side, leaning against the wall, head hung low and a sad expression on his face. "Jack?" the way Sam called his name had it all. Why was he there? Why was he eavesdropping? Why was he sad?

Jack lifted his watery eyes to look at Sam and took a deep breath "I am sorry. This is my fault. Again." he said and hung his head low again, but at the same time pulling something out of his pocket and holding it high for Sam to see. The pearl.

What else could Sam do, but sigh heavily and close his eyes for a moment. Reopening them, he pulled a comforting smile and said "It's gonna be ok, Jack. We'll figure it out. We'll fix it." Sam tried to walk past Jack, but Jack grabbed his arm and made Sam look him straight in the eyes.

"I want to be the one to fix it. Let me help. Let me come and save Mary." Jack said, desperation in his voice, his eyes pleading. All this time he didn't just feel alone, he felt useless. More useless then when he had his powers. At least then, he could do something. Being almost human... It was hard. Sure, he trained with other hunters, learned how to fight with fists rather than with powers, but he still got shoved aside. He didn't want to be shoved aside again.

Sam opened his mouth to tell Jack that he thought it wasn't a good idea, clearly worried the kid might get hurt. But before he could say a word, *Dean patted the kid on the back and said "Go pack your bag kid." Sam was astounded for a second and just when Jack took off smiling, he frowned at *Dean. Who was he to make such a decision about Jack?

*Dean caught the spark of rage that crossed Sam's eyes and he took a deep breath. "You can't continue to keep him under a glass bell. Can't keep him out of everything, hopeful it will keep him safe. He needs to learn, he needs to act. He needs to feel useful and productive. He needs to feel that he can still help people, save them even without his powers." *Dean explained and all the while Sam was looking at him confusingly. That was definitely not his brother. Not one word sounded like him.

Still, Sam wanted to protest. Jack was still in training and they had no idea what they were up against. But as *Dean explained, it was all the more reason to bring him. They could use more back up, and Jack needed to learn how to defend himself in real-life situation. "Besides, if you push him aside again, he might do something worse than sending your brother to my world and bringing me here. Not that he meant to, but still..."

Sam had to give him credit, not only was he right, but he explained it so well, Sam could help but wonder was this version of his brother ever pushed aside like that.

Five minutes later they were all in the garage, bags over their shoulders. "What do you think you're doing?" Sam asked watching *Dean open the driver's door.

"What does it look like? I am driving." *Dean replied like it was so oblivious.

"I don't think my brother would want that." Sam defended and *Dean just rolled his eyes at him.

"And what would he want? You driving, hitting every pot-hole on the way, forcing the engine? I think he would rather have me driving it. Besides, he is probably driving my car." *Dean retorted and astonishment found Sam again. This version of his brother was different, that was for sure. Sure, somewhere in there, the meaning of his words would have been the same as his brother's, but the way he said it... Those subtle differences in tone... Only someone who knew Dean the way Sam did could see those differences.

Sam smiled awkwardly as he extended his hand gesturing that *Dean has the claim over the car and he walked around to sit in the passenger seat. Jack smilingly took the back seat. Soon they were on the road, heading two towns over to a bar Kipling said he and Mary were waiting for them. The plan was developed on the road, Sam would go in alone and on cue, *Dean and Jack would bust in and take down whatever monsters were there.

Half way there, *Dean finally had enough of Sam's awkward shifting in his seat and throwing glances at him. "Just spit it out already!" He said a bit loudly, making Sam flinch.

"Spit what out?" Sam asked confused. Was he that obvious?

"I see you want to ask. So just stop squirming and ask." *Dean said with determination in his voice, but couldn't help his trembling lip. For all he knew, Sam could just throw him out of the car when he heard what he was.

"Ok... – Sam said – what is different about you?" He felt the need to explain so he started "You are not the first double we met and the others were..." but *Dean cut him off.

"I know. Jack told me." and *Dean gave Jack a look in the mirror. He could see the kid was nervous, so he gave him a small nod before he addressed Sam again. "I am a fallen angel." *Dean spat out, still not having the courage to say the name.

"Wait... You... You mean you were an angel? You clipped you wings and ripped out your grace and fell? So that means you were reborn as human... But... How... I don't get... No..." Sam would continue to rant on if *Dean hadn't stopped him.

"I didn't rip out any grace; things are different in my world. The angel part... It is dormant inside of me... Well he was until all this happened. - *Dean said, but quickly tried to avert the subject – I am still me. I was born as *Dean Winchester, a human. I am human – he repeated like he was trying to convince himself – It wasn't until I was older that I found out about... the angel."

*Dean could see the baffled expression on Sam's face and he dreaded the moment Sam would ask the angel's name. But when Sam didn't say anything for a few minutes, *Dean felt the need to break the silence. "It doesn't matter. This will all soon be over, and I will be on my merry way." He would rather run then face Sam and he had no idea why. Why the hell was he dreading Sam's reaction so badly? Everyone told him Sam would understand. So why did he think he wouldn't? He should just suck it up and face the music before something happens and Sam finds out another way, maybe from Michael.

"Sam..." *Dean started warily, but Jack interrupted him.

"We're here! – he exclaimed excitedly – There is the bar." They parked almost a block away and got out. The bar was in the industrial district, so luckily there weren't a lot of people there in the evening. Jack stood in front of the car, eyeing the bar while Sam and *Dean went for the weapons in the trunk. They pulled out the machetes and hid them in their jackets immediately.

Sam approached Jack and tried to hand him a machete as well, when Jack looked at him and said "Those are useless." When Sam frowned at that statement Jack explained "With the small amount of grace I have, I have inspected the bar. There are no vampires in there."

Sam raised a brow. He didn't know Jack could still do that. He guessed he really should have paid more attention to the kid. His powers should be recharging slowly, but Sam had no idea how much have they progressed. He nodded proudly at Jack before he asked "What are we looking at then?"

"Thirteen humans, Mary and Dominic included. And six demons." Jack said plainly.

Sudden fear besieged *Dean. He hadn't faced a demon in a long long time, much less three of them. His legs began to quiver, threatening to give up on him. His hands shook and he retreated to the trunk, dropping the machete back in. Damn, he was a good hunter! Why did it bug him so much that there were demons there and not vamps?

"Been a long time hasn't it?" Sam asked seeing the look on *Deans face. "Long time since you faced a demon, huh? Here... Ever seen one of these?" Sam asked handing *Dean a round, almost pyramid shaped dagger with a round hilt. Looked like it was made of silver, but it was lighter than it. *Dean rolled the dagger in his hand, examining it for a second and it made it clear for Sam, *Dean never held a weapon like that.

"What is it?" *Dean asked looking back at Sam.

"It's an angel blade. - Sam replied with a smile - it can kill an angel or a demon." Sam raised a brow at *Dean's expression. He was somewhat amused by the fact that Dean doesn't know what it is. Shouldn't he be a fallen angel? The more Sam thought about it, the more it was clear to him that the angel was a personality buried inside and the man that stood before him was plain *Dean. A slightly different *Dean, but a version of his brother nevertheless. He actually started to like the guy.

"Awesome - *Dean said, smiling at the blade - the only thing I know that can kill a demon is the colt."

Sam smiled at the mention of the colt, remembering the *Dean must have seen it in hi brother's room. "Well, here we have the angel blades or the demon knife." Sam said wielding the knife. He was the one that used mostly. After all it was a gift from Ruby. "You're good to go?"

The next half an hour Sam listened to Kipling rant on about being the new king of Hell. There was no way Sam was going to allow this to happen. So when he said no, Kipling approached Mary and grabbing her hair and pulling it back he said " You sure about that? I was going to play nice and enter a sort of partnership with you, but at the end of the day I don't really need you."

At that moment Sam gave the cue and both Dean and Jack charged in. Unfortunately Jack hadn't seen the pile of black smoke behind the bar and the next thing they knew there were more demons than humans in the building. Every innocent bystander was possessed by a demon and now they were facing 17 instead of just six demons.

A bit freaked out by it, but still with determination on their faces, they sprung into action. *Dean tossed Sam his demon knife and Sam used it to cut Mary loose. *Dean punched a demon and managed to toss two angel blades Mary's way. While Mary turned to free Dominic, Sam punched one demon in the gut, only to receive a punch by another. He repaid the favour by stabbing the demon, killing him instantly and then did the same to the other one.

*Dean was astounded when he trusted the blade in the demons heart and saw the flicker inside the body. There was something so calming about seeing the demon perish before your very eyes and *Dean couldn't lose the smile. Each stab and flicker filled his heart with joy and he just kept going, mesmerized by it all.

Jack took a few punches before he was able to push two demons off of him, killing one and watching *Dean kill the other. *Dean gave him a wink and he smiled at him, but flinched just in time to avoid a broken bottle coming down on him. Moving backwards on instinct, he tugged on the demon's hand that held the bottle, pulling the demon towards him and the blade, impaling him on it. Mary and Dominic both took a demon each, struggling with them longer than usual. Damn, why did the bouncers have to go after them?

Kipling stood aside, observing, waiting for his chance. When Mary finished off the bouncer, he sent another demon after her. The demon had a blade on him and he swung down on Mary. Luckily, she dodged the demon, but Dominic, who happen to be right behind her, wasn't so lucky. The demon smirked as his blade went straight into Dominic's gut. He used Mary's moment of surprise to swing his other hand at her, hitting her in the head and sending her to the ground. But not before she hit the chair on her way down.

*Dean's attention got drawn to Mary's peril and as he rushed towards the demon that hit her, he missed the demon that crept up behind Jack, lunging the angel blade he took from now dead Dominic straight at Jack. As if he felt it coming, as if his grace knew about the imminent danger, Jack swung around, grabbed the demon's hand that had the blade and twisting it around, he made the demon impale himself on it.

"Jack, look out!" *Dean yelled after killing the demon that hurt Mary. A demon took the advantage of Jack attention to his buddy and launched his fist into Jack's face, making him fly across the room. Jack hit the wall hard and slid down on the ground unconscious. Damn! - Dean though. His focus was split, his eyes darting everywhere, trying to protect everyone and failing spectacularly at it. He felt a strange surge of rage filling him, something he hasn't felt before, or didn't remember feeling it.

Mom was on the ground, moaning and holding her head, blood seeping through her fingers, and two demons heading her way. Jack was on the other side of the bar, down by the wall, uncourteous and a demon on his tail. And *Dean didn't know what to do, where to go.

He looked back at Sam, seeing him fight off three demons simultaneously, and something inside of him broke when Kipling snuck up behind him and dug an angel blade right into his spine. *Dean went pale as he saw the king wannabe twist the blade, smirking all the while, while Sam screamed out in pain. Another demon laughed as he thrived the blade in Sam's chest, puncturing a lung and making Sam scream again. As if in slow motion, *Dean saw blood pouring out of Sam's mouth and Mary running towards him, just in time to soften the fall. He saw her screaming the word NO as Sam coughed up blood, holding his hand over his front wound.

*Dean glanced at the smug smile on Kipling's face and all Hell broke loose.

The ground shook and thunder raged somewhere not so distant. In an instant, all demons snapped their heads to look at *Dean, eyes wide, pure primal fear on their faces. Kipling's lower lip trembled and he gulped, when he saw those fury red eyes directed at him, and he felt the same thing the other demons were whispering. "Master... Master..."

"No, no... – Kipling barely let out – No, impossible... They said you are dead... Or too weak to come forward... No, it can't be you..."

Sam felt his insides burn with hot white pain and his vision wavered, but it was the adrenaline of the battle that kept him awake. Barely able to breathe, feeling the metallic taste of blood filling his throat, he watched *Dean approach Kipling. *Dean had his back turned on him, so he couldn't see why Kipling seemed so scared at the time. And why were the demons whispering? The pounding of his own heart kept him almost deaf, and he could only watch as Kipling spat out a few scary words before *Dean came up to him and using only one hand, lifted him up. He said something to him, Sam was sure, but he could hear it. The demons were chanting the same word by now, and he could almost make it out... Master?

Sam grasped and then coughed wildly when he saw thick black ooze running out of Kipling's mouth, nose, ears, eyes. The demons eyes were wide, horror filled and he made chocking motions. Mere seconds later, *Dean dropped the body of what used to be a very strong demon and Sam could hear him shout loud and clear, but in three different voices and in three different languages. English, Latin and Enochian, all saying one at the same "ENOUGH! THERE WILL BE NO NEW KING OF HELL!"

Sam could see a demon in the distance gasp at those words, scared out of his mind and smoking out a split second later. He could hear that screeching noise that a demon made when leaving a vessel, amplified, and Sam figured all the demons must have fled. Adrenaline wearing off, Sam vaguely remembered *Dean saying he was a fallen angel. What angel would make the demons run for their lives?

It all hit him at the same time. The adrenaline pumping up again at the realization and at the sight. Those all too familiar red eyes seemed so strange at yet so terrifying on his brothers face, and Sam's eyes went wide. Fear spread across his face and he tried to speak, but only managed to produce a gurgling sound as the blood started filling his lungs.

*Lucifer turned around only to be welcomed by the pale, horror coved face of the person he was supposed to protect. It didn't matter it wasn't his Sam, he let them down. He let them all down. Mary was looking back at him with equal fear in her eyes and Jack was still across the room, unconscious and probably hurt. A single tear ran down his cheek before he shut his eyes tightly.

When he reopened them, they were emerald green again, indicating *Dean was back. Would have been better if he wasn't. He felt his heart drop, unable to breathe when he saw just how hurt Sam was. But what hurt the most, that excruciating pain in his chest was the look on Sam's eyes.

"Sam..." *Dean whispered, and it was worse than a knife to the heart when he saw Sam try and back away. Tears ran down his face, watching him, not only so scared of him, but also watching him die. Sam was dying and he couldn't even be at his side. He couldn't even hold his hand, scream at the Heaven's a loud NO. No, he had no right. He wasn't anything else but an intruder, a monster that wanted to be a part of a human family, but ended up costing them a lot. It was all on him. It was his fault. And it hurt. Hurt so badly, all *Dean could do is keep being frozen in place, watching Sam gasping for his final breath and close those eyes at his final moment of peace.

It hurt like a son of a bitch to know, the last thing Sam saw before he died was the eyes of his tormentor on his protector's face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, this chapter got away from me. Way too long. Sorry to leave it with such a huge clifhanger, but if I didn't cut it here, it would have had a thousand more words.


	13. Chapter 13

They just entered the town, passing a sigh that said "Welcome to Lebanon, Kansas!", when the dog started whining in the back seat, scaring the bejesus out of *Henry. Dean frowned and glanced at the mirror at the dog. "What, does he need to pee or something?" he asked *Sam.

Seconds before Dean asked, Sam caught a glimpse of a big sign that said "Animal shelter", but couldn't help but laugh at Dean's question. "No, I think he wants a body. We just passed a sign that said there is an animal shelter half a mile away."

"Damn dog wants a meat-suit? – Dean asked annoyingly more than anything else – So what, we just adopt a poor dog and let Ripper here loose on him?" Sure, Dean was never a dog person, but this was a demonic possession we are talking about. A K9 demonic possession, but still. It was something they worked to prevent, not facilitate.

"Ripper will take a sick dog, a practically dying one. My... My *Dean instructed him to do that." *Sam replied with some sadness in his voice, clearly mentioning his brother was still an unnerving subject for him.

Dean sighed and looked over at *Sam. He knew that tone, he knew that look. A part of *Sam was blaming himself for what happened with the Deans. But Dean knew, no matter how much of a psychic he was, he couldn't have prevented it, he didn't have the power to. And he certainly didn't have the power to make it right. Dean only hoped that, once they took care of *Abaddon, they could find something in the bunker to help them set this right. If his own Sam doesn't do it before.

But for now, he knew he had to make *Sam feel just a little bit better. And if *Sam thought the dog should have a vessel, than by God, he shall have a vessel. At the end of the day, who knew? They might need him in a body. So Dean pulled over just at the entrance of the animal shelter and opened the door to get out. He didn't even have a change to put his foot on the ground before Ripper smoked out of the car, making Dean flinch and mutter his famous line under his chin. "Son of a –" and he just had to smile at the irony. If there was anyone out there that fit the description perfectly, the dog would have to be it.

Mere moments later, Dean heard a bark while leaning on the impala, waiting. He turned around only to see a beautiful Siberian husky, with fewer black hairs than normal. Heck, he almost seemed completely white, and it was a bit freaky to see those lava-red eyes in such a ghostly dog. Beautiful, but scary as Hell. It wasn't until the dog approached him that the red in his eyes faded, leaving only... Well, one eye blue and the other light brown, almost yellow.

Dean started laughing. It was like a mixture of an angel and the yellow-eyed demon, and that was just the dog. It had nothing to do with the fact that he was currently being possessed. Dean opened the door for him, and the dog rubbed his snout at Dean's jeans as he passed him, showing him a tad of affection.

Fifteen minutes later, they were pulling up by what seemed like an old factory, but half buried on the side of the hill. It had a sewer-kind-of an entrance at the foothill. Dean parked the car just passed it and they all got out. It was past sunset and it was already getting dark outside.

"*Henry, you still got the box?" Dean asked, and without hesitation, *Henry extended the box to him. All he knew about it was that it contained a vast amount of knowledge, not that *Henry knew how such a small thing can hold something so massive. He is yet to find out about smartphones and internet.

When Dean told him it contained a key, he understood better, but failed at any attempt to open the box. It was like it was magically sealed. He could see where the hinges were and the mechanism to open it was fairly simple, but it just wouldn't budge. When he gave it to Dean, he observed him open it and cursed to himself. Of course. He had to push in the buttons on their Men of Letters symbol first. And he had done it on numerous safes and doors before. Why didn't it occur to him to do it on the box too?

Dean opened the box and pulled out a very old looking key. He went down the small stairs and opened the door using the key. Following a long industrial looking hallway they reached another more massive door. They had strange symbols written all over them, and *Sam couldn't hide his fascination. "These are just wardings and sigils. - Dean explained seeing the look on *Sam's face – Wait to you see what is inside." Turning the key he opened the door, a stale air overwhelming their senses. Sure, it hasn't been opened in over 50 years. Some venting will be necessary.

They pushed in, and Dean couldn't hide the smug smile on his face when he saw the look on wonder on *Sam's and *Henry's face. On the top of the staircase, they could see the War room, map-table in the center and old, very old computers all around, with lights and switches. They could see the room had three more passageways and they couldn't get down the stairs fast enough to see what was there.

On two opposite sides, there were hallways, but in front of them... A large library, filled with books and weapons on display, and at the end of it, there was a huge periscope. Both *Sam and *Henry felt like little kids in a candy store, a wide grin on their faces and eyes filled with amazement. Dean just had to smile at that sight once more.

"It gets better. – Dean said – on this side there is a fully operational kitchen, and on the other, these hallways lead to a bunch of bedrooms. Like a big dormroom. And, and... This place... – he said flipping a switch, widening his smile – This place has his own power and water..."

"What... What is this place?" *Sam asked, even though Dean had explained it before, but he was just so mesmerized to remember.

"This, *Sammy... This is home."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lucifer appeared back in the bunker, but frowned when he didn't see nor hear anyone around. "Sam?" he asked looking in the library. "*Dean?" he asked peeking inside the kitchen. No, that would be the other Dean he would find in the kitchen. "Jack? *Dean?" He asked knocking on bedroom doors in a row. "Where the hell is everybody?"

Going back to the War room, he stood in the center of it and sighed heavily. "Sorry Mikey. But I gotta tap into your grace for this." Lucifer closed his eyes and focused. He couldn't sense *Dean, but he guessed it was because of his unique... whatever. He tried to sense Sam, but it was weird. It was like he was there, but he wasn't. "Ok, third time's the charm." he said and tried to feel Jack. He should be the easiest to find, he was his son after all, and they did share a special connection. Jack was the extension of his being, a part of him. There was slight relief when he found him, but something was off. "Athol? Why would he be there? Did they leave on a case?" Lucifer wondered. He couldn't picture *Dean willingly going on a case with Sam, not after what he heard him say last night.

He did feel a bit of Sam there too, just so weak... Maybe Sam and Jack went on a case? Did Sam finally let him hunt? Lucifer would just have to pop up and see for himself. He appeared in an alley near the bar, and after he made sure no one saw him, he entered the bar like he was just coming in for a drink.

The sight that welcomed him was horrifying. Dead people scattered around, a dead hunter he had seen in the bunker before. Jack unconscious on the far side of the bar. *Dean stood stiff in dead center, a body at his feet, and black goo all around it. Lucifer knew what that meant. That used to be a demon who just got the worst punishment he ever came up with, having his damned soul melt with an internal flame. It was both horrifying to watch and to perform. And Lucifer knew, if it was done, then it was done by his double. The fallen angel had emerged to deliver justice. But justice for what?

He heard it before he saw it. A mother weeping over her dead son's body, trembling and clenching on to him, refusing to let him go. And there Sam was, lying motionless on the floor, blood still seeping out of his chest. There was blood on his hands and on the corner of his mouth. His chest was still, the motion of breathing completely absent.

"Oh, shit!" Lucifer exclaimed when he realized Sam was dead and he ran by his side, brushing past *Dean, hitting him with his shoulder. Like a slingshot, *Dean returned to his former position, face pale and blank. He stared in front of him, wishing he could just close his eyes and pretend it was all a dream. He didn't even notice the tears that ran down his face, that tightening sensation in his chest not allowing him to breathe. If there was ever a time he wished he was dead, this was one of them. And the worst part, this was the second time in his life he had to see a Sam die.

Last time, it was God that brought him back, erased two months of their lives, giving them a clean slate. But here... There was no indication that God was even listening, much less around. So all he did was just stand there, stare blankly at Sam's body.

Lucifer ran to Sam's side, opposite Mary. She looked up at him and couldn't believe her own thoughts. The man that tormented her son for years, the angel responsible for everything bad that ever happened to her entire family, the devil she punched all the way to another world, now stood by her son's side, clearly shocked and sad by his death. Never in her life did she imagine he would react like this.

Never in her life did she imagine what Lucifer was about to do. Without a second though, Lucifer closed his eyes and tapping into Michael's grace, he put his hand over Sam's forehead and focused. Seconds later, he felt a bit woozy, but pleased to hear Sam taking in a breath again. He did it. He brought him back. But why did it drain Michael's grace so much?

Sam opened his eyes, gasping for air. The first face he saw was Lucifer's and he flinched. Every second in the cage, every interaction he had with him flashed before his eyes. Fear filled his expression for a moment before he remembered, Lucifer had changed. Not enough to ever be forgiven, but enough not to be constantly terrified of him.

He saw his mom on his right, tears down her face, red eyes, but a smile. She was happy he was alive. Then he saw a man standing right in front of him, but had to focus hard to see him, his vision coming clear too slowly. He put up a gentle smile seeing the face of his brother, and as if he didn't remember anything, he let out a sigh of relief.

He looked back at Lucifer; with a nod thanking him, his throat too soar to speak. But he blinked and for a split second he saw those red eyes. His own eyes widened and he looked back at his brother, searching for comfort, protection. In his mind, *Dean's eyes also flashed red, and Sam lost it. Terrified out of his mind, he couldn't comprehend the memories that were slowly coming back to him. He gave out a loud, scared whine before his breathing picked up and he started sobbing, looking back and forth between *Dean and Lucifer.

"He might need some rest – Lucifer said carefully, suspecting why Sam was acting the way he was – I'll teleport you two back to the bunker, in his room, ok?" Mary nodded, a thankful look in her eyes. Lucifer placed his hand on her shoulder and tried to do the same to Sam, but the hunter flinched, trying to back away.

"It's ok, Sam. – Mary comforted – It's ok, look." She nudged her head towards her own shoulder. Sam relaxed just a bit seeing Mary allowed Lucifer to place a hand on her. Or was it Michael? Yeah, must be Michael, cuz there was no way mom would let Lucifer touch her. He took a deep breath as he saw Lucifer's hand approach him again, but quickly sighed in relief, seeing he was in his room, with his mother by his side. All the things that happened that day wore him down and he put on a satisfied smile for his mother's benefit as he drifted off to sleep.

Back at the bar, Lucifer moved towards Jack. He could feel him, sense his condition and he knew he was just uncourteous. "Jack? Jack, you ok?" Lucifer nudged him and could help but gasp when Jack looked back at him, his eyes squinting, his head still heavy and he said "Dad?" Like Jack didn't even know what he said, he groaned and rubbed the lump on the back of his head. "What happened?" he asked when he brought his eyes back on Lucifer.

"Long story, kid. Can you get up?" Lucifer asked and helped Jack stand. The kid still felt his head pounding, but otherwise felt ok. "Good, you're good – Lucifer stated – Look, Sam was hurt. I will teleport you back to the bunker and you help him out with whatever he needs, ok?"

Jack blinked himself to focus and then looked back at *Dean. He saw him just standing there, stiff and breathing heavily and he knew something must have happened. At the same time, he could see Lucifer wanted, or needed to deal with it, it seemed to be on a higher level. He felt another pinch of guilt, but still nodded at Lucifer, deciding to grant him his request.

"Wait! – Jack said when Lucifer set his hand on his shoulder – The car... It is still outside."

"Can you drive? Do you even know how to?" Lucifer asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I do. I'll bring the car home." Jack said, feeling like it was the least he could do, for Sam, for this *Dean, for his Dean. Lucifer just gave him a small proud nod and let him leave the bar. He watched him sit in the car and starting the engine. It wasn't until he saw the impala's tail-lights going deeper into the night that he turned his attention to the one remaining person in the room.

"He got loose, didn't he?" was the first thing Lucifer asked and when *Dean didn't respond, just closed his eyes in guilt, Lucifer continued. "And let me guess. Sam didn't know... Right... You do realize you've done more damage this way? You let Sam go in here without all the information. That's not what a hunter does. That's not how you save lives. That's how you get killed."

"You don't need to tell me what a hunter should or shouldn't do! - *Dean tried to sound angry, but the guilt was as clear as day – I... I told him I was a fallen angel..."

"A fallen angel? – Lucifer laughed – Please! You and me both know we are a bit more than just some angel."

*Dean remained silent.

"Let me talk to him. Let me try and make him see reason." Lucifer said.

*Dean gave him a confused and a worried look. "I... I can't control when he comes out... He... He hadn't been out in almost a decade..."

"But he decided to pop up tonight? - Lucifer said mockingly, but then frowned at *Dean and his own words – It was Sam, wasn't it? His death triggered it, didn't it?"

*Dean remained silent.

"Fine. – Lucifer said decisively – If he doesn't want to come out and play, I guess I'll just have to come and find him myself."

*Dean's eyes went wide at that statement, but before he could say a word, Lucifer placed two fingers on his forehead, sending him in deep sleep, falling hard to the ground.


	14. Chapter 14

Letting out a deep breath of relief and with a satisfied look on his face Dean exited the bathroom, steam escaping through the open door. Just like the first time he discovered the showers in the bunker. Constant amount of hot water left him unworried about ever having a cold shower. Unless he needed one. He tied the rope of the bathrobe lazily around himself, covering up the fact that he only had red boxers underneath.

Walking out to the library, he slightly tilted his head in confusion as he saw *Henry on one side of the table and *Sam on the other, noses deep in books. "Out of all the things you could be doing, this is what you come up with? – Dean asked annoyingly - *Henry, did you see the archives? The place has a but-load of cursed objects and other thingies. And, hey, *Sam, you know what this place also has? A dungeon! How awesome is that?"

"Yeah, Dean, that sounds great." said *Sam, not really paying attention to what Dean said. *Henry only raised his eyes for a second to glimpse at Dean looking like he hadn't even heard him speak.

"What am I, a freakin' ghost? And invisible hell-hound?" Dean was somewhat upset they weren't listening to him, and rolled his eyes in bigger annoyance when the actual hell-hound barked back at him. Ripper chose a spot right under the main staircase, finding it to be much like a little den, comfy and cosy. Not to mention that would be the perfect spot for a guard dog to be. Dean had to give him credit for that.

"Al right, I give up!" Dean said throwing his hands in the air. They did seem fascinated by the books they were reading, it just wasn't the excitement Dean was looking for. Guess he would have to give them time for all of this to sink in. As he walked away towards 'his' room, he threw one more glance at them, thinking how alike those two were. Dean hadn't noticed it before, with his own Henry, they hadn't had time for it. It still hurt Dean, not that he would ever show it, but loosing Henry was hard. He really wished his father knew what had happened, and he really wanted to make a connection with a grandfather that wasn't a total douchebag.

All thoughts on *Henry and *Sam dispersed when he walked into 'his' room. Or what he planned to be the other *Dean's room. Oh, yeah, Dean sorta had a plan.

He heard it what that *Lucifer said about family, home... So he figured, he might as well take advantage of the situation and make it as homey as possible. And if that didn't persuade him, the fact that *Abaddon was after them might. Heck, he might even threaten him with the Mark as the only possible means of disposing of her. Not that he would be so foolish to take it up again.

He looked around the empty room for a moment. On the desk, he set *Dean's duffle bag, the one that he was currently using, along with *Dean's clothes and... stuff... He would leave it there along with other things he decided to dig out of the trunk, a gun, a knife or two... *Dean's pictures of *Mom and *Dad and him and *Sammy. Even the one he found that had Ellen and Bobby on it, smiling happily with the boys. Nothing like the photo he had back home. So much more cheerful.

"OK, time to get this show on the road." He said rubbing his hands together. A thought occurred to him on the drive over that he might walk into that dream dessert again when he fell asleep tonight. The thought kinda freaked him out at first, but then he thought he might use it to his advantage. He developed a plan, and after careful consideration, he decided to roam the bunker's storage room, knowing exactly where to look to find the African dream root. He wasn't leaving anything to chance.

Now that everything was set, the dream root prepared, *Sam and *Henry otherwise preoccupied and Dean so ready to hit the hay, he gulped down the disgusting tea and almost considered throwing himself on the bed. Man, was he tired. Instead, he decided to play nice and walked over to the bed. Slipping under the covers, he turned off the lamp on his nightstand and laid on his back. Minutes later, he was out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There it was again, that same dune. Only this time it seemed to be bigger, higher, as if it didn't want him to pass over it. Didn't it know it was going up against Dean Winchester? That man, when he set his mind to something, there is very little that can stop him. So with grunts and curses he climbed and climbed and climbed until finally he reached the top. Panting hard, but glad he lastly made it, he took a tired step forward and almost lost his footing.

Wobbling a bit, he managed to stay on his feet and sighed in relief. Finally, his eyes darted his surroundings and he frowned when he laid his eyes on that small tree. Pacing angrily right next to it, only one *Dean was there. Question was with one?

Dean wondered how this whole place worked. Last time he was here, both *Dean and *Lucifer were here and he thought *Dean could just close his eyes and come here. Was it really like that? If there was only one version in the dessert, did that mean the other was awake in the real world? No, not the time to ponder over such metaphysical questions.

"What do you want?" asked a coarse voice without turning to face Dean when he approached. The man before him seemed so tense and the voice echoed with anger, a part of Dean just knew.

"What happened?" Dean didn't ask, he demanded, worry and resentment in his voice. If something happened to Sam or Jack or Mom because of the man before him... Dean felt he could just kill him with his bare hands, right then and there. Whoever it was.

The man turned, revealing his true nature, those red eyes flaring at Dean. It felt like he was going to say something, opened and closed his mouth. There was a pinch of remorse in his expression, a sign of guilt. It felt like he couldn't take Dean's stare, and he just had to look away, feeling like he had failed him. Not that he should care. So why did he?

"What DID you DO?!" Dean's gruff voice asked again, the tone suggesting he is not to be mess with right now.

"Doesn't matter. It has all been mended." *Lucifer finally said, some annoyance in his voice.

"If you don't tell me what happened right now, I swear to God, I will..." Dean threatened, knowing full well, there wasn't really anything he could do.

Expectedly, *Lucifer gave him a you-will-what? irritated glance, but sighed heavily instead of snorting back.

"It was a trap... – he said emotionlessly – But they were handling it... Jack is a good fighter..."

Dean's eyes went wide as *Lucifer mentioned the kid. Jack was in a fight? He let him come on a hunt? Was he out of his mind? The kid was clearly still learning, he wasn't ready for that. And just like that, Dean felt engulfed in a parental worry. Just like when Sam was a kid. He didn't even realize how much he cared about Jack up to that point.

"If Jack got hurt because of you..." Dean's face went comically red, but *Lucifer just waved his hand at him.

"Jack's fine..." he replied, but there was something so disturbing about his tone, the way he emphasized the name, almost like...

"Who isn't fine?! – Dean figured and shouted – Who got hurt?!" Could it be Mom? He knew she was supposed to come in a few days, and figured she must have by now. Maybe Michael and Lucifer? Dean flinched at his own thought. Why the hell would he care if they got hurt? Why the hell would this *Lucifer feel guilty if they got hurt? NO, no... Deep down, Dean knew, but his mind just refused to let him say it out loud. So he just glared furiously at *Lucifer, barely restraining himself from punching the guy in the face. He had seen a lot, and this *Lucifer didn't scare him one bit.

"Like I said... I has all been mended..." *Lucifer said dismissively and turned his back on Dean.

Dean snapped. Disregarding the fact that *Lucifer had all the power in this dream dessert and could just send him flying, he grabbed *Lucifer's shoulder and in a quick motion swung him around. Grabbing his collar and getting into his face, he yelled out of the top of his lungs "IF SAM GOT HURT BECAUSE OF YOU..."

"Would you relax? Your brother is fine. A bit of bruised ribs, but otherwise completely fine." a familiar voice lied and Dean couldn't hide his surprise. Neither could *Lucifer. Finally meeting his doppelganger, *Lucifer's eyes flared a brighter shade of red. He didn't know what to think when it came to Lucifer. On one side, he hated him because of what he did to Sam, and then pitied him for his ability to hold a grudge and care too much about what others thought of him, but he also envied him. Almost no angel would spare him a glance; much less start a war, an apocalypse over him and his rise. *Lucifer pushed those thoughts away and glared at the newcomer. A question was forming in his head.

As if Dean could read his mind, he frowned at Lucifer, knowing just by his tone it was in fact him, and asked "How the heck did you get here?"

"Archangel – Lucifer said pointing at himself and then pointed all around – Dream... Not that hard to invade dreams of a person sleeping next to you." Sending a devilish smile Dean's way, he asked "But how are you here?"

Dean ignored the question, not sure himself of the answer, and released *Lucifer from his grip. Now glaring at the other Devil, he asked in a form of a statement "You are all tapped out. You're not powerful enough to dream-walk."

"It's a long story – Lucifer said with tad sadness in his voice – one I aim to fix. But to do that, I need you in your world and him... Him in his..." Did Lucifer just say he needed him? What was going on back there? As much as he wanted, needed to know, Dean realized what Lucifer was doing there. The exact same thing he was trying to do. Persuade the other *Lucifer to go back to his world.

Neither of them knew, he was already waging that decision, waiting for the other human half of him to come see him so that they could talk. After what happened, his determination wavered, and he found himself wondering why wasn't his *Sam enough. Then guilt started to settle in as he realized he left his brother alone. This Dean was just an imitation of him, not the real deal, and as such couldn't protect *Sammy the way *Dean could. They way *Sammy deserved it.

"It was about god-damn time. – Dean burst out – you have no idea what we have been dealing with." Oh, yeah. That got everyone's attention. Time for the show.

When he made sure both Lucifers were staring at him waiting for answers, curiosity in Lucifer's and slight worry in *Lucifer's eyes, Dean started, glancing over at the combination of himself and the Devil that was *Lucifer "You said there were no angels, no demons, no big threats... What would you consider *Abaddon to be?"

It was almost funny to see himself and those red eyes go wide with fear. "No...No... Impossible... *Cain took care of all the knights..." *Lucifer stuttered.

"Looks like he missed one." Lucifer had to add.

" Oh, Cain certainly missed her. And then she vanished like over 50 years ago. Or so everyone though. She didn't vanish, she time travelled to the future. To right now." Dean explained.

"H...How?" *Lucifer's voice quavered as his eyes focused on the floor.

"Our father's father. *Henry Winchester. He was a Man of Letters; if you know what those are. He knew about what goes bump in the night and worked to stop it. He opened the door to the future and *Abaddon followed. She attacked us, threw us up against a car. Tried to possess your *Sam." Oh, that hit a nerve.

*Lucifer flinched and his eyes shot up at Dean.

"He's FINE." Dean mocked. Hurts when someone does it to you, doesn't it? When someone is withholding information when you're obviously worried. "Hey, at least *Henry gave us the key to the bunker, to our home." Dean stretched the word just a bit, making a point, but quickly continued.

"We, *Henry, *Sam and I, are safe for now, but it is only a matter of time before she finds us... I have no means to fight her – Dean lied – unless you want me to fight her the way I did in my world..." he deliberately trailed off, looking at Lucifer.

On cue, Lucifer picked up "Oh, no. Not that again!"

A dramatic pause.

"Not the Mark again. Then you will end up in that vicious circle again and then finally snap and take the Mark down... You'll release her. AGAIN."

*Lucifer seemed more alert than ever. Oh, yeah, he knew what they were talking about, Jack told *Dean. But he wasn't ready to face *Abaddon, much less his aunt, the Darkness. Guess he had to choose the less of two evils.

"Fine. Tomorrow, we go back. - *Lucifer stated and then gulped – That is if you know how to..."

Both Dean and Lucifer exchanged smirking, satisfying glances, not really believing they worked so well together. "Oh, we certainly know one way..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean's dream root wore off and with a smile on his face, he vanished from the dessert. Lucifer looked at the spot he was for a second before raising his head to meet the other *Lucifer's face. It felt strange, sensing his grace, but seeing that face. Just didn't feel right. For a second, he wondered, if Dean was his true vessel instead of Sam, would things have been different? Better?

"We'll work this out. Together." Lucifer said as he put a comforting hand on *Lucifer's shoulder. Boy was that weird. Lucifer trying to consolidate someone, it felt strange even for him. So he quickly tried to pull his hand away, but something in his mind clicked and he was back in the cage. He gasped in confusion, but kept his focus on the small body crouching down in a corner, swinging back and forward.

"At least my dessert has the open skies above." a voice came from behind him and panic arose inside Lucifer as he swung around. Expressionless, *Lucifer stood behind him, not tense, but not relaxed either. His eyes gave away just a bit of curiosity as he leaned aside, trying to get a better look at Michael.

Lucifer followed the motion, trying damn hard to stay in between them. Michael's psyche was cracked as it was, all thanks to that *Lucifer. He didn't need him to break Michael completely. Protectively, he glared at a Winchester version of himself and clenched his fists.

"Don't worry - *Lucifer said almost caringly – he can't see us here. He is too deep in his own mind, his own hallucinations, I can see it now..." *Lucifer still managed to catch a glimpse of Adam, his little body shaking. "Jack told me... Told my *Dean what happened. I wish there was something I could do to help..." he sounded sincere.

"Why do you care?" Lucifer snapped.

"Why do you?" *Lucifer shot back, tilting his head aside in curiosity.

"Why do I what? Care?" Lucifer asked frowning in confusion.

"Yes. Why do you care? Your brothers and sisters either wanted you in cage or dead... – *Lucifer elaborated, but then huffed a laugh – though I have to admit, at least they cared enough to hate you. My family forgot about me... – he paused, but not wanting to give Lucifer a chance to reply to that, he continued – So why do you care? You do know that when you find a way to separate you from Michael, you will become useless. And add the fact that you're as powerless as I am... You will be discarded by all. Even the Winchesters. Why would anyone want to keep the Devil around?"

Those words confused Lucifer, he hadn't thought about it like that, he hadn't thought that far along. He just knew he had to help his brother. He hoped he'd get a chance to spend more time with Jack, but the Winchesters were more his family then Lucifer would, could ever be.

And then a thought crossed his mind. It seemed like the other *Lucifer was pitying him, but what if... What if he was still trying to figure out his own place in his own world? What if he was hurt that his own family left him behind, he is trying to find more connections? Of course. Jack... The extension of his own grace. 'Blood of his blood' so to speak.

"For a long time I didn't care... Even when I thought no one cared, it was unimportant to me... But spending time with him... – Lucifer glanced back at his brother – in this cage and in the cage out there... I saw how much it hurt him... My actions, my behaviour. And as much as he wanted to kill me... I didn't want to see him hurt." Lucifer explained. He hadn't noticed Adam's face lift up and look questioningly at him.

"So they care? Even if it seems like they don't?" *Lucifer drew his own conclusions, but deep down, he understood. Take what you get.

"I don't really know. – Lucifer replied – I guess after we fix Michael and me, I will find out."


	15. Chapter 15

"Holy..." Jack began to curse and the car started to wobble on the road as Lucifer appeared on the passenger seat, making the kid flinch. "...Cow..." he finished as he relaxed, seeing it was only Lucifer.

"Hey! Language!" Lucifer scolded with a smile, but Jack missed the slight frown of discomfort from Lucifer. For a second, he looked like an old man with a bad back that just had to bend down to pick something up.

"Sorry." Jack muttered an apology as he glanced in the back. There laid *Dean, unconscious, body spread across the whole back seat. "What happened? Did you... Did you get to talk to... You know... The other *Lucifer?" Jack asked keeping his eyes on the road. The car and its passengers were his responsibility and he wouldn't let himself be completely distracted.

Lucifer watched the kid amusingly as he formed his question and smiled. There wasn't any resentment towards him in Jack's voice anymore. Jack hadn't forgave him, he could never ask him to, but just to be able to talk to him, in a normal manner was a big win for Lucifer. Not now – Lucifer thought – there are other things to worry about.

"I did. I talked to him. And he agreed to go back... " Lucifer couldn't help the little frown on his face as Jack's expression somewhat saddened at the news. It hurt that he couldn't be there for his son, that Jack had to find others to look up to, and that, unknowingly, they all let him down. They all ignored him, and he wasn't allowed to do anything about it.

Trying to change the subject, he added "Hey, I also saw Dean... Our Dean. – and he smiled as Jack's eyes sparkled at the news – He's ok. I have ABSOLUTELY no idea how he came into this dream, but he was there. We... We actually persuaded that *Lucifer together. We make a good team." Lucifer ranted on, seeing a smile form on Jack's face. It was a strange sensation for him, but he felt like he would do anything just to wipe that sadness of the kid's face.

"Did he say anything about that world?" Jack asked curiously, still grinning at the news that his Dean was ok. At least he didn't mess up royally when he sent him to that world, or so he thought.

Lucifer frowned again. Should he tell the kid? Was Dean even telling the truth when he said *Abaddon was after them, or was it just a trick to get *Lucifer to go back? For a second Lucifer thought Dean wasn't smart enough to think of something like that, but he quickly pushed the thought away. That was the old him thinking. No, he knew Dean was smart enough not to lie to any version of *Lucifer in this situation, as it could only backfire if it weren't true.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Jack asked, noticing how deep in his thoughts Lucifer was. The devil cursed inwardly, he was taking too damn long to answer.

"Nothing... " Lucifer said and thought he didn't want to lie to the kid. Damn! he thought. He isn't gonna keep Jack out of the loop like everyone else was..." Well... Dean, our Dean did mention a demon that was kinda after them... But c'mon... This is Dean we're talking about... He can handle a demon..." Lucifer tried to ease it, to make it seem like it wasn't that big of a deal. But he knew better. If *Abaddon was after them, and they really didn't have a weapon to take her down... Well, that would be a disaster.

"What is the demon's name?" Jack asked coldly.

"What?" No, Lucifer wasn't playing dumb, he was just too deep in his own thoughts to hear what Jack said exactly.

"The demon's name!" Jack now demanded, clearly a little pissed.

"Abaddon." Lucifer stated, more sad than anything else. He should have just been honest with the kid. But he was just trying to keep him from worrying about something he couldn't fix.

Jack just kept his glare at the road, not saying a thing, but putting more and more pressure on the gas pedal, gripping the wheel so tightly his knuckles went white.

An hour later, but what should have been three, they arrived at the bunker. Jack glanced at the man in the back seat, frowning. He wasn't sure how he felt about him anymore. A part of him blamed that *Dean for not trying harder to go back, but deep down Jack knew, this was his fault. If he hadn't wished him here, if he didn't postpone his departure and facilitated his lies... And there he was again, wallowing in self-pity, just sitting around and blaming himself. And he had enough.

Jack didn't know, he didn't quite feel it because it was so subtle, but that small piece of his grace steered angrily inside of him, pulsing at a new pace. Growing slightly along with Jack's determination, it reached to the person closest to him. Lucifer flinched sensing his own grace reaching out to him, but said nothing as it seemed like Jack wasn't doing it on purpose. He just watched him as Jack's angry eyes moved from *Dean to Lucifer, only to become... Less angry? Lucifer couldn't explain it, he had no idea what just happened. He wanted to say something, but found no words and only watched Jack sigh deeply and get out of the car.

"How is he?" Jack asked Mary who just left Sam's room. He was on his way there to check on him when Mary opened the door and stepped outside. She put her finger to her lips like she was trying to shoosh Jack, and motioned him away from the door.

A few steps away, she whispered "He is sleeping, resting, but otherwise he is ok." She took a deep breath, her eyes still red from the tears and continued with a trembling voice "I... I can't even... If Lucifer hadn't showed up when he did..." She trailed off, realizing how funny, impossible, ironic that sentence would sound. She couldn't believe that she felt thankful that the man that tortured her son for so long, and haunted his dreams, was now the man that saved him, brought him back to her. It was all so hard, so confusing.

"Can I stay by his side? – Jack asked hopefully – I will be quiet, I promise." Mary just couldn't say no to that pleading look in his eyes. After a minute she nodded at him, understanding in her expression. The kid cared deeply about her son. Jack saved them on more than one occasion. She owed him so much more than a simple request like this could cover.

And even though it was almost midnight, Jack still sat in a chair next to Sam and watched him breath slowly, sleeping soundly for the next couple of hours.

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"Wake up." Lucifer said, not yelled. He wasn't angry at *Dean nor the fallen angel inside of him, he knew how they felt, he understood. Besides, he didn't have the strength to yell. A part of him felt tired and he actually caught himself begin to yawn.*Dean slowly opened his eyes as if he was never asleep, deep sadness imprinted in those greens and he sat up in the back seat, hands in his lap and eyes on the floor.

"What, you're just gonna wait right there, huh?" Lucifer asked and rolled his eyes when all *Dean did was nod. "Oh, c'mon. Self-pity doesn't suit you. Heck, even the Dean I know would be angry and probably throwing stuff around..." Lucifer tried to joke, but to *Dean it didn't seem like a laughing matter. He had gone full monster in front of Sam, scarring him and then watched him die. He was so relieved Lucifer had come when he did, and saved Sam.

"Ok... But it is gonna be hard to send you back if you're hogging Dean's impala." The devil said with a smirk, like he was reading his mind. *Dean's eyes went wildly wide and he gulped as he raised his head to look at Lucifer. No having any memory of what happened in the dream dessert, not having been there in the first place, it felt strange for *Dean to feel his entire being wanting to go back. Like that other part of him wasn't at odds anymore.

"What... What happened? Did you..." *Dean asked with uncertainty in his voice.

"Did I talk to myself? – Lucifer huffed a laugh – Sure did. And it wasn't just me." Lucifer let that sink all sink in before his face turned serious and his voice gave out a more severe tone. "They are in trouble. Your Sam and our Dean. They have a very dangerous demon after them."

*Dean shot up and within a split second he was out of the car, standing right in front of Lucifer. He was just about to say something, but Lucifer spoke first. "Relax. They are safe for now. Apparently, Dean has found this place in your world. Which makes things a lot more simple for when we open the rift." *Dean let out a breath he had been holding, slight relief washing over him. Lucifer eyed him head to toe before saying "You should get some rest too. Sam should be good to go by morning, and then we will get this show on the road, ok?" To that, *Dean just nodded.

As he and Lucifer walked from the garage to the bedrooms, Lucifer hoping to find an empty bed to rest, he sized *Dean up again. The first bedroom was free and as Lucifer stopped at the doorframe, his hand came up to grab *Dean's forearm, slowing him to stop. Lucifer immediately let go, wanting only to get attention and not look threatening. He looked straight into *Dean's eyes and shared his thought "You know, I have seen a few fallen angels, true fallen and reborn, but you... There is something different about you. You still have the power to change it all."

*Dean frowned, not understanding what Lucifer meant, but didn't get a chance to ask as Lucifer closed the bedroom door on him. So with a very confused look he proceeded to his room, but when he passed Sam's closed door, the look turned sad for a moment, then with a flash of anger turned into determination. He will change it all. He will fix it all.

And Lucifer? Lucifer slumped down on the bed, and wondered what was going on. Michael was still in his own nightmare, and aside from using some of his grace, all in good intentions, Lucifer hadn't embraced the whole of the grace, just tapped into it slightly. Still, something felt wrong, like he was weakening himself, the grace depleting too fast. It was all so confusing, even more so when he felt this tired. It only took a few minutes, but all these thoughts got wiped away as Lucifer actually fell asleep.

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It was around four in the morning when Sam woke up, gasping for air like he was drowning in a nightmare. Jack had been sitting on the same chair for the past four hours, leaning on the night stand with the support of his hand, dozing off, and the poor kid flinched so hard, he shot up when Sam woke, bewildered look in his eyes, darting the room.

He calmed before Sam did and sat back in the chair heavily. Sam's heart still pounded as he looked around, realizing he was in his room. Looking over to see his mom, half sitting, half lying on the massive desk he had in his room, he blinked a couple of times, remembering her crying out over him. He steered in the bed and felt a pinch in his chest, but when he ran his hand over that part of his body, there was nothing there. No wound, no bandage. There was a pinch in his back next and he remembered a snot-nosed demon laughing behind him, whispering something in his ear.

He glanced at Jack and just for a moment, his mind played a trick on him, making it seem like Jack's eyes flickered red. Lucifer red. Or was it another angel? Sam gasped silently, a part of him not wanting to alarm Jack if it was really him that was smiling awkwardly at him. He pulled himself up into a sitting position, flinching when Jack took his arm trying to help him up. Jack noticed the nervousness in Sam, but didn't know what to say.

Shove it down. Just shove it all down and move on. – Sam thought. Bury all those feelings and approach things with clear mind. "Where..." He tried, his voice too coarse, still feeling that metallic taste of blood on his tongue. He cleared his throat and started again "Where's Lucifer?" He still wasn't sure about what he saw back at that bar. Was it the fallen angel that came forward and killed Kip, or was it just that *Dean? For a second he thought their own Lucifer possessed him at the time, but quickly remembered seeing Lucifer walk into the bar minutes later. Or was it Michael? A headache was well under way.

Jack huffed a laugh, and said something that confirmed some of Sam's doubts. "Which one?" And Jack's face softened, he closed his eyes, heavy feelings weighing him down. He took a deep breath and looked Sam straight in the eyes. "I mess up. Again. But I... We will fix it all. Tomorrow." Jack shifted in his chair, looking like he was trying to make himself comfortable and looked back at Sam. "Tomorrow. You sleep some more, rest. You need it."

As much as Sam was taken aback by Jack's tone and posture, there was a more pressing issue. "Jack... The pearl... Do you still have it?"

Jack frowned at the question, and his hand instinctively flew to his pocket. Pulling the pocket completely inside out, he shook his head. "Must have dropped it when I got thrown across the room. Why?" Jack asked curiously and it was clear in his eyes that if the pearl was useful now, Jack was going to have more to beat himself over with because he had lost it.

"Never mind." Sam replied, not wanting to add to Jack's feeling of being a failure. What would be the point in telling him that by destroying the pearl they could undo it all, when the pearl was lost somewhere, God only knows where? No, they would need to find another way. Maybe Lucifer or Michael or whoever it was that brought him back could spare some grace for them to open the rift? He doubt Michael would go for it, they haven't actually been able to help him with his sharing-a-vessel situation.

No, it had to be Lucifer there. He clearly saw that flash of red in his eyes. Besides, Michael wouldn't have bothered to bring him back. Speaking of, he should thank him for that...

...

...

...

Oh, man, I am so tired. – Sam though, wishing the previous though away. It sounded too weird, too impossible.

So he just laid back down and rolled to face the wall, feeling the weight of everything slowly dragging him down to sleep.

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There was some strange tranquillity in that desert of theirs and *Dean looked up to face himself humming a song he couldn't quite pinpoint. The man before him turned, the red eyes almost sparkled and *Lucifer just kept humming as he walked passed *Dean.

"What happened? Why are you so happy to be going back?" he asked turning towards *Lucifer again.

"What is not to be happy about? We are finally going back to our *Sammy. Isn't that what you wanted?" *Lucifer asked caressing a leaf of that one sprout in the middle of the desert.

"What about what you wanted?" *Dean asked warily.

"What I wanted? Oh, I will get that too." *Lucifer said purposely dragging the explanation long.

"What... What are you going to do?"

"Me? I'm gonna leave a piece of myself behind."


	16. Chapter 16

Sam jolted awake, but more quietly this time. He looked over to see Jack dozing off in the chair next to him, and he had to hand it to the kid, he really had grown a lot, his face looking serious, more weigh of the world on his shoulders. The famous Winchester guilt proving to everyone, he was family.

Sam glanced at the night stand Jack was leaning on, and saw it was 6:30 in the morning. Otherwise perfect waking up time for Sam, to get up, shower, make the coffee... But it was a differently perfect timing now. He slowly slipped from under the covers and hopped to his feet. Feeling strangely more... something. He didn't even know what he felt. More flexible, more relaxed... Energized? Younger? Oh, yeah, right. He was recently brought back to life and as a result he was high on residual grace. Speaking of...

Walking past Mary, he glanced over at Jack once more as he opened the door. Wanting to make sure he didn't wake anyone, except the man he wanted to talk to, he figured this early in the morning would be perfect. Sure, his Dean would be a little bitchy to be woken up at six in the morning, but this was necessary as there would be no interruptions. No distractions.

He knocked on the door gently, but when there was no reply, he slowly opened the door. Wanting to wake up only *Dean and not everyone else, he stepped in and went completely pale. *Dean was twitching on the bed, covered in sweat, mumbling something in a very vivid nightmare, and the sight scared Sam shitless. He completely forgot it wasn't actually his brother there, on the bed, seizing and he ran to him, shouting his name. Grabbing his neck firmly, he placed *Dean's head in his lap and try to wake him up.

Sam sat his hand on *Dean's shoulder, giving it a good shake as panic rose inside of him and *Dean's eyes shot wide open. Sam gasped and his breath picked up, look dipped in horror because it wasn't his brother, it weren't his eyes staring back at him. But, oh! He knew those eyes all too well, that red fury abyss staring back at him, ready to take his soul apart and put it back together and tear it apart again and again and again...

No... He isn't in the cage anymore. Lucifer wasn't a threat anymore. This wasn't *Dean, not anymore. But *Dean blinked and very confused emerald green eyes stared back a Sam, some fear, some sadness, all of it wondering what was Sam doing in 'his' room, on his bed, holding his head. A second later, it clicked, he was having another *Lucifer nightmare and was probably having a seizure along the way, just like he had so many times before.

"I'm... I'm ok now." *Dean barely whispered and Sam snapped out of his trance, blinking hard to regain the reality and then looked down at the face in his lap.

"Right... – he said and feeling awkward, and let *Dean get up – You were just... and I was..." he got up and turned to the door, turned his back to *Dean, running his hand through his hair, trying to pull himself together and understand what just happened. For a split second, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him, like he was again having hallucinations, and he completely freaked *Dean out.

"That always happens when he and I talk." *Dean explained, eyes darting the floor. "I know it might seem like it is killing me, but I am fine. Really." *Dean wanted to assure Sam, and finally he looked up to meet Sam's eyes, a rainbow of feelings in his gaze. He thought Sam wouldn't even look at him, much less want to talk to him. Especially in private, behind closed doors, both knowing, having witnessed it, what *Lucifer inside of him was capable of.

Sam looked at him, wondering for a moment what was going on behind those very familiar green eyes, and even though it wasn't actually his brother, deep down, Sam knew, he wasn't going to hurt him. He remembered seeing that fury in those same eyes when the demon stabbed him, he saw the protectiveness on *Dean's face. This was still *Dean. With a bit more past and baggage, and with a bit more power than a normal human, but still *Dean.

Sam huffed a smile, a genuine one, and said "You should have told me. You know I would understand. You know I would know you didn't choose to be who you are. I know you didn't choose the past you had." *Dean's eyes filled with hope, hearing Sam not call him 'a what', but 'a who'. That meant so much, that little word changed everything. Sam wasn't scared of him, wasn't going to turn on him, leave him, disown him, whatever bad thing *Dean though Sam might do. He accepted him. And suddenly *Dean felt happier, lighter, like a huge weight was lifted of his chest.

"I know... - *Dean said trailing off, his mind making strange connections – I knew that..." And he frowned looking down, considering, thinking. "I mean, I knew that. – *Dean stated again – and still I thought... I wanted you to accept me... Why would I... No, why would he care what you..." Indeed. Why would *Lucifer care what this Sam thought of him? Was it just that he didn't want to go back and Sam would certainly send him back if he found out? Or was it something more?

"How does it work? You and *Lucifer I mean." Sam asked hoping to bring him out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh... Well he is asleep most of the time... He was asleep... Until we came here..." *Dean told Sam all about how they found out about the other side of him, the fight with Azazel, and Sam just could figure how could a demon such as Azazel get an upper hand on... Well, the Devil himself. But he said nothing. Maybe this *Lucifer wasn't all that powerful, he was a fallen angel after all. Who knew how things worked in their world?

He told him about their lives now, and Sam was amazed at how simple things seemed to be. Just regular monsters, going around the country, Baby as their home. No biblical apocalypse, no need when the Devil surrendered a long time ago and was left alone to wonder the Earth. And Sam could hear it all. The hurt of being abandoned, the longing, the desire for a home, for family, for more. and Sam understood. Things were simple there, too simple. As bad as things got here, they, he and his brother had their mom, they had Cass, they had Jack, heck, and they even had the three archangels if they really needed them, if the world needed them.

"So you two basically work like a split personality disorder? – finally a smile on *Dean's face – And if I wanted to talk to him...?" Sam wondered, not that he actually needed to talk to the Devil.

*Dean gave out a fake laugh at Sam's 'compliment' and raised his brow at the question. "No it doesn't work that way... I can't just flip a switch..." and he trailed off, and the room suddenly went quiet, really quiet. *Dean's look was at the floor and when Sam tried to catch his gaze, he turned away.

"You know... You really should be more careful what you wish for..." a different voice, a more coarse voice came from *Dean and *Lucifer wondered why was it that only Sam, or better yet any version of Sam was the only one that was able to bring him forward with such ease. Sometimes he had to die, or be in trouble or just... ask to see him.

"I know these eyes bother you." *Lucifer said reading right through Sam's attempt of being stoic, undisturbed by the sight.

"They do. And I think you know why." Sam replied after a sigh.

"I know. And I... We...He is sorry." *Lucifer said and Sam frowned. 'He' who? – Sam wanted to ask, but sighed, already knowing the answer. No, he is not going there. It is still a sore subject, it still hurts, it still haunts his dreams. And seeing that face every single day... And suddenly Sam had no idea when exactly had he become accustomed to seeing that face, so different when Lucifer was in control, so sad, and so compliant?

*Lucifer could see it was still a sore subject for Sam, so he decided to talk about something else. "Did you really release the darkness in this world?" he asked, remembering his talk with Dean, hoping he was lying.

Sam huffed another laugh, thinking how they didn't do it just once, but twice, in another world, in another story. Still, he replied "Yeah, we did. And fought her, tried to lock her away again. And when that didn't work, Dean... He um... He talked to her and changed her mind about humanity and God and... They reconciled in the end... – Sam looked back at *Lucifer – and she... She gave us our mom back."

A few moments of silence passed by, *Lucifer deep in his thoughts when Sam's question snapped him out of it. "Who told you about the darkness, was it Jack? Or was it our Lucifer?" To Sam it seemed more likely that Lucifer shared that information, and bragged about how he helped. Or tried to, anyway.

But Sam wasn't expecting *Lucifer to say "No, Dean told me. Your Dean." Seeing the look on Sam's face, he smiled devilishly before he explained "Oh, yeah, we met... In our dreams... He is one brave mother f..."

"Where is he? Is he ok?" Sam snapped, interrupting what *Lucifer was about to say and almost lunged himself at *Lucifer, who was surprised enough to back away. Surprised, not scared.

"Wow...Wow... Relax... Wow, it must run in the family. You are just as pissy and either brave or stupid to get into my face like that... Like he did." *Lucifer said with some amusement, but he had to give them credit, they weren't stupid. They just faced more important, more powerful things than him. "He's fine, he's with my *Sam. And some guy named *Henry who claims to be our grandfather."

Sam gasped hearing the name and his eyes started going left to right, like he was reading, thinking, connecting the dots. "That's why you asked about... If *Henry is there then so is *Abaddon. And the Mark... The first blade..." And suddenly Sam's eyes shot back at the wall, at where the blade used to be on display before they gave it to another DDean. This time Sam did really lunge at him, grabbing his collar, not caring it was his brother's face he was leaning into, red in anger, frowning in rage, but with fear in his eyes. "Tell me... Tell me he didn't take on the Mark again..."

*Lucifer's hands were in the air, in the I-surrender mode "He didn't... Not yet..."

Sam shoved him and turned his back on him, clear panic in his posture as he started pacing back and forward. "You... You said there are no angels there, so no angel blades... No one to help him... No Ruby, no demon blade... – and Sam jolts, his ocean eyes pierce right through *Lucifer's hazel ones – The colt! Do you ... Do I... Damn it, is the colt still functional?"

And *Lucifer glanced at the melted colt on the wall of Dean's room, and frowned in confusion "It... Yeah, it doesn't look like that if that is what you're asking. But we don't have..."

"Dean knows how to make the bullets. But I am not sure if it will work on her..." Sam said now more calm, yeah, his brother had a shot. He looked back at those fury red eyes, and it felt like they were mocking him, like they were tormenting him again. He squinted his eyes at *Lucifer and asked "You... You didn't tell me about ... you... not cuz you were afraid of how I might react, but because you wanted to stay, didn't you?"

"To which one of us are you talking about? – that creepy smile so didn't suit *Dean's face – Cuz both of those things are true, for one of us, at least." And Sam knew. The *Dean part didn't want to hurt him, the *Lucifer part wanted to stay. And why? Jack, of course, Sam figured.

"You wanted to stay because of Jack. – and Sam glared with anger and spoke with possessiveness in his voice – But we will send you back today and bring back my brother... And we'll even kill Abaddon, one way or another. But Jack... Jack is off limits to you, you understand?!"

"Hey, I already agreed to go back... And as for Jack...I wasn't planning on kidnapping him or anything if that's what you mean..." And he trailed off, for a moment it seem like he was frowning at something, listening in, or maybe having an inner dialog. And then he turned back to Sam, that creepy smile on his, on *Dean's face "But now that you mention it... I did have an idea..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

"Wake up." A calm, caring voice called out to him and he heard it and grunted in his sleep. He rolled over and felt someone's hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently. "Wake up..."

"Five more minutes..." he pleaded, but the voice was persistent and he finally opened his eyes only to meet Jack's worried gaze. "Alright, fine..." Lucifer said and dragged himself in a sitting position before swaying his legs down to the floor. He sat in the bed and looked up at Jack, frowning. "What's wrong?" Jack wouldn't have that look in his eyes if it wasn't something serious.

"You... Why are you sleeping?" Jack asked, knowing well angels and especially archangels didn't really need to sleep unless... Unless they were depleted of grace and if Lucifer and Michael were in fact depleted then...

"Can't a guy enjoy a little nap?" Lucifer said carefree and still waited on Jack to tell him what was actually troubling him. Because it couldn't have been just Lucifer and his sleeping.

"Nap? You slept for full eight hours straight." Jack said looking at the clock on the nightstand. It was midnight when they came in, and the clock now showed 8 AM.

Lucifer frowned at the clock, like the little thing might be lying to him, trying to trick him, because he knew he had just dozed off, just now, a few minutes ago. But then he met Jack's concerned look again and he couldn't have the kid worry like that. "'m fine. We're fine... Must be an effect of sharing a vessel for so long... Don't worry kid, we're all charged up. Well, ya know... Mike is..."

Jack deepened his frown in disbelief, but said nothing to challenge Lucifer. "Ok... Well, we're almost ready to go."Lucifer nodded and got up, his feet feeling heavier than before he went to bed. It was almost like the sleep tired him.

Seconds later they were walking in the library just in time to see Sam put together the bowl with the ingredients and *Dean looking at it with high interest.

"What, that's it? Some fruit, some blood and a pink rock?" *Dean said sounding more like the actual Dean than he has since he woke up in this world.

Sam first frowned at *Dean, who was by Sam's account oversimplifying things, but then smiled. Typical Dean. "No, that's not it. – he pulled a hair from *Dean and threw it in, much to *Dean's bitchface - And you know this isn't just any fruit, nor blood, nor rock. And we need one more thing..." Sam trailed off looking back at Lucifer.

A whirlpool of emotions washed over Sam when he saw that face, it was no longer just the face of his tormentor, the Devil, the ultimate evil (Sam had learned by now, there is no such thing). Now it was also a face of a man who helped them, saved him, and brought him back to life. And he was going to help them out again, willingly this time. He really should thank him, but he just couldn't find the words.

"Jack said we're all set." Lucifer said glancing over at everyone in the room and rubbing his hands together, like he was about to feast on a roasted pig, and not end up like the poor pig himself.

"Yeah... – Sam replied looking away, like he had something to be ashamed of now – Jack told us you were willing to help us out..." And Lucifer could see the change in behaviour and the softness in Sam's voice. The way he averted his eyes, the insecurity in his expression. Like Sam wanted to ask him to help before he volunteered, but knew what happened the last time they asked for his help. He screwed up. Again.

Well, not this time. "Yeah. I want to get Dean back too, so that you two could help me and Michael..." he reminded, purposely making it sound like it was quid pro quo than him doing it pro bono.

*Dean's eyes went wide in horror as he watched Lucifer slice up his own neck with a golden blade he presumed was a weapon more powerful than the angel blade and he felt disgusted by the sight of grace dripping into that bowl, but he could see, he could feel the power emanating from it. Eyes were still wide in curiosity and amazement as he watched his first passage between worlds open up.

"Something's wrong." Sam said s they watched the rift remain open, but flicker every few seconds.

"Could just be the effect of our shared vessel." Lucifer explained.

"Well, here goes nothing." *Dean said as he stepped in first.

Jack nodded as he passed by Sam; he made it clear he wasn't going to sit this one out. And frankly, Sam was proud of him for stepping up, proud of him for holding his own in that bar fight and not get himself killed... Like Sam did... And he was proud of him for driving the car back, he appreciated it, especially since he didn't even scratch it. But Dean will never, must never, ever know!

Lucifer went up next, smiling awkwardly as he passed Sam and the hunter replied with an awkward smile of his own.

Sam nodded at his mom, it was decided she will stay behind, just in case. After what happened in the bar, Sam wasn't going to let her in on anotherr 'hunt'. He held up the bowl with ingredients and with one duffle bag filled with angel blades and guns and anther empty one over his shoulders, he crossed the rift. Now standing in the archives he broke the spell and packed up the bowl in the empty bag all the while huffing ironic laughs at the infamous Winchester luck. He was alone. Locked in the archives. While there was some loud pounding and shouting in the distance, while the siren was blaring out of the speakers and all the lights in the room were red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone happen to catch my little "mistake"? No? That's cool... Oh, you did? Oh, yeah, that was on purpose...


	17. Chapter 17

*Dean found himself in the bunker's kitchen, confused of how he ended up there, why there was this loud noise outside, why the alarm was deafening him and why was he seeing red. Was it really the lights or did something happen to him on a molecular level and he and *Lucifer were now jumbled and instead of his eyes turning red he was seeing red?

"Damn it *Dean, snap out of it!" *Dean scolded himself and quickly turned around when he heard footsteps behind him. A tall man, with bed hair (or make that chair-table-sleep-hair) and in a white shirt, his tie loose stepped into the kitchen, gun raised. *Dean immediately took a stance, on high alert, ready for whatever this guy might do. And then he was confused.

"For goodness sake, I could have shot you, Dean." *Henry said lowering his gun. "You have any idea what is going on?" *Dean relaxed and sized the guy up. He seemed like an ok guy, for someone who was over 70 years old.

"*Henry..." *Dean started, but they both flinched when they heard a growl and a loud thump.

...

Jack appeared in the library, his back towards the War room. He didn't even get a chance to give out a breath of relief that the rift worked and he didn't go through dismembered or something like that. He froze when he heard a loud growl and turned around slowly. He just noticed the fluffy white thing seconds before it tackled him to the ground and he closed his eyes, feeling the hot breath on his cheek.

The thing seemed to sniff him first and a million things went through Jack's mind. Oh, no, he is not going to go down like this. He is a fighter, he will fight. And just as he was about to push the damn thing off of him and find a way to defeat him, the damn thing... licked him?

Jack opened his eyes to meet the stare of a dog that wined and waved his tail happily at him. It barked and licked his face again, and it tickled and it made Jack laugh. But he stopped laughing when a man with a gun ran into the room, pointing a gun at him and despite the dog's defensive stance, yelled at the kid "Who are you?!"

But right behind him walked in *Dean, and smiled at the sight. "Careful, Ripper. Otherwise I might think you found a new master." He teased and *Henry squinted his eyes at him. He was supersized to see the dog run towards this *Dean happily and this *Dean to actually hug the dog and pet him.

"Alright? Would you mind explaining what is going on?" *Henry finally asked, his eyes going from *Dean to Jack and back.

There was a devilish smirk on *Dean's face and it was somewhat scary to see it in that red light as he said "The cavalry has arrived."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

"Ugh!" Lucifer woke up with a heavy headache. He was down on the floor and he grabbed his head as he slowly pulled himself into a sitting position. He felt weak, every bone in his vessel hurt, screamed at him, and his gut... It was in twisting and turning, and there was a strange sensation in his throat and suddenly there was an image in his head of a beetle bombarding the ground with its spit and the next thing Lucifer knew he was vomiting bile and maybe some raisins too.

And then there was a warm steady hand on his shoulder and there was concern in the air, and Lucifer mumbled a "Thanks." without even looking up. But when he did look up, when his ears stopped ringing and he heard that honking sound and saw the red lights that engulfed *Sam, he was so surprised at that expression, at that worry in his eyes.

"You ok, dude?" *Sam asked, not just concerned about the guy who showed up in his room out of nowhere minutes after the alarm went off, but also curious and confused. Because, *Sam felt, *Sam sensed something different about the man before him and it sort of freaked him out. No, there was no way that he was who *Sam thought he was. *Sam felt, *Sam knew there were two identities in that one body. One that resembled so much to the signature of the devil of their world and the other... The other felt so much like his own brother... But no, that was impossible.

"Dude? When did you deage?" Lucifer asked with a fake smile as he got to his feet, but when he raised his eyes to level with *Sam's, it finally clicked. "Oh... you... You're the other one, aren't you?"

"The other what?" *Sam asked frowning. Did he misjudge the man before him and he was in fact a threat that took care of one brother and is now after 'the other one'.

"The other *Sam." Lucifer said, and there was clear relief in *Sam's eyes that baffled Lucifer. I mean a stranger just appears in your room and you are relieved he knows your name?

"And who the devil are you?" *Sam asked smiling. Like he already knew. Like he was teasing.

And Lucifer picked up on it. And he said "Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste..." and he laughed, but the laughter quickly turned to cough, the cough to vomit and the vomit to blood. 

And then there it was again, the concern in *Sam's eyes, and Lucifer was waving his hand off, mumbling "'m fine, I'm ok." And before *Sam could say anything, the door of his room swung open and he stared at a *Dean, and the *Dean stared back at them. He was about to tell them to get a move on, that they needed to find his own *Sam, but then he saw it... That concern in *Sam's eyes, the hand on Lucifer's shoulder and then *Sam was staring at him, like he hadn't seen him in years, like he was seeing him now, like really seeing him, like only his own *Sam could, and *Dean gasped.

"Hate to break this little reunion – Lucifer said doing just that – but we have a few problems." His voice sounded coarse, he was pale and breathing heavily. "First off, I don't think this alarm is cuz of us and the rift. Something is trying to break through the wardings outside. Something is trying to break in, and it doesn't look good."

And then he added like it wasn't that big of a deal. "Oh, yeah. And I think I might be dying."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was just about to try to pick the lock when he saw it move silently, like someone on the other side was testing it. And he didn't know whether he should go for the gun or the angel blade, but ended up taking what came under his hand first as he heard the door unlock and Sam raised his gun and aimed it at... "Dean?"

Dean stood by the door, the colt aimed and then quickly redrawn as he met a familiar face. "Shit, Sam, I almost shot you. What the heck are you doing here?" Dean asked, of course thinking this was the other Sam who wondered in the room last night and must have fallen asleep there. "Never mind. – he dismissed – The bunker is under attack. Something is trying to break inside. And I was only able to make three bullets with the stuff we had here."

And there it was, Dean missed it, but there was a sigh of relief, a sigh of happiness as Sam realized, and he was so glad he made it in time, he was so glad he was able to get to his brother just before shit hit the fan and with a wide grin, Sam said "Well, then I guess it is lucky I decided to bring a bunch of angel blades."

And Dean blinked and looked at him like he wasn't sure he heard him right, but then Sam opened up one of the bags he had, and there really was a bunch of angel blades in it, right next to Sam's demon blade, and boy was that a wide smile on Dean's face, but there was no time for pleasantries, no time, no, never enough time for a hug and a pat on the back, just a quick nod of understanding as fast approaching footsteps echoed down the hall.

"I'll go this way and you two go that way. Take Ripper with you and find who you can find." *Dean said nudging his head in the direction of the garage while he turned to the bedroom hallways.

"*Dean, are you sure it's a good idea to split up?" Jack asked. He had seen too many movies to know, something always goes wrong when the people split up. But *Dean was already at the door, shaking his hand off at Jack like he was saying 'It's gonna be alright.' and a second later he was gone.

And then Jack turned around to meet the frown on *Henry's face and he smiled awkwardly at him, raised his hand high and said. "Hi."

Minutes later they took a turn around the corner, *Henry taking point because he thought Jack was too young for that, and he got two guns shoved in his face. He raised his hands in the air, but broadened up his shoulders, instinctively trying to protect the kid behind him. There was relief when the guns lowered to reveal Sam and Dean's faces, and then *Henry was confused, because he just saw *Dean on the other side of the bunker.

And then Jack popped up behind him and smiled and waved his damn hand in such a jolly way and Dean smiled back, and he... hugged him? And Sam smiled too, and there was a hint of jealousy in his eyes when the hug happened and now *Henry was confused as hell. And then Sam saw him, really saw him, and gave him a sad smile... "Oh, fudge..."

Suddenly there were shrieking noises coming from the garage then sent shivers down everyone's spine. The sounds were so creepy, hollow and screaming in their ears at the same time. And naturally they ran towards it, colt and the blades as their weapons.

The heavy wooden and iron cased garage door held, glowing red, slowly burning down the wardings. Engraved deeply in the wardings would have held for a long, long time, but the smaller side door looked just about done. Seconds later, the door flew open, letting in a dozen of men, black suits, black ties, black eyes, followed by a sand storm of thick black smoke.

The black smoke swept the room like a flood, sending all four, dog included, flying and hitting walls and classic old, but preserved cars. The smoke raged on, tapping one person at the time, clearly pissed it couldn't get through. Sam and Dean had their tattoos, and even made Jack get one when he turned human. Neither of them knew that *Henry found a 's amulet in the bunker last night. It looked just like the one Bobby gave the boys when he introduced them to the exciting world of demons. It served as a protection before they went off and got the tattoos.

The dozen men formed a line, sort of an entourage, leaving an open pass in the middle, leaving open a view to the small door. No one moved from the spot, no one really could as red high heels stomped slowly through the door. Long legs in long leather pants, pink shirt with a heart on fire hiding behind a black leather jacket and the ever-present rose red lipstick. Hair down, circling her face and almost hiding that vicious smirk.

"You do know you're all going to die down here?" she said and glanced around the room. No man could move, not even a muscle, not even Dean was able to throw a witty comeback at the red queen.

So naturally, everyone was surprised, even *Abaddon, to hear an angry voice say "No, you are going to die here!" and she gasped at the sight of those golden eyes.


	18. Chapter 18

Dean ended up on the far side of the garage, hitting his head on the handle of Dorothy's bike. He landed on it, sending it to the ground and came crashing down with it. Sam yelled out his name, but even that far away, he could see the blood seeping out of Dean's head, and he could only hope his brother was only unconscious.

Sam and *Henry got blown away to a side of a black 54' Buick Skylark, putting a damp in the car's door and fender and now they were watching Jack resist the power *Abaddon had over them, his eyes flickering gold for just a split second as he got off the ground and in her face only to be tossed across the room with nothing more than a nudge of the queens head. But Jack got up and charged her again and got tossed aside again. And she was amused.

Sam's eyes darted from poor Jack to unconscious Dean, worry wrapped his face and he wanted to run to his brother and he wanted to tell Jack to stop getting up, but it was too late. After a few trips across the room, *Abaddon felt intrigued by the kid. Somehow he had the power to resist her, not much to do anything else aside that. But she could feel his will, the kid was strong. And he obviously cared about the people in the room enough to try and fight her, so she would have some leverage.

She smirked as she let him charge her for the last time before grabbing him by the throat and trying to lift him up. But he was in fact strong so he sunk his fingers into her hand and she had no choice but to let go. "Alright! You want to play? You got it, kid."

For the next few minutes Jack got punched, kicked, tossed around, shoved up against the wall, thrust upon the ceiling. His hands, his knees, his head, all bloody, and cut and bruised. His left eye shut and swollen, his shoulder dislocated, his ribs cracked. And maybe an arm broken, he couldn't tell. And Sam closed his eyes, praying, hoping the kid would stay down, roll over, play dead. But he didn't. He couldn't.

Finally he was weakened enough for *Abaddon to grab that neck and raise him high. "There is such a fire inside of you; you are stronger than any human I came across. – and there it was, that damn smirk of that red lipstick – I am going to have so much fun with you." One hand holding him high, the other tracing down his chest. Suddenly she ripped what remained of his shirt and her fingers went over the tattoo on his chest. Pressing her palm against it, she left a flaming imprint of her hand at where the tattoo used to be, and Jack screamed in pain.

But when he opened his eyes, there wasn't worry, there wasn't fear in them. No, there was just the good old Dean's spite as he looked straight into her eyes gritting his teeth, his expression saying Do it! I dare you!

And she did. She tried. The smoke left *Josie's body and reached Jack's lips. She entered him whole and got spat out with such force that she returned to *Josie and flew across the room. Jack was released and he landed on his feet.

"What... No... That's impossible... – she muttered getting up, frowning at Jack – You... You can't be him!" Jack said nothing, just stared at her, his expression saying Is that all you got?

Boy, did that piss her off. He swung her hand and he was flying away again, and got up again and it enraged her. The kid was getting dangerously on her nerves and she was done playing around. "Kill him." She ordered her demon entourage. They were only able to take one step in Jack's direction when a voice spoke up from the hallway door.

"Don't you FUCKING DARE!" Lucifer yelled, red fury burning bright in his eyes. But a mere second he blinked like he was hiding something and went and stood by his son.

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Minutes before, Lucifer, *Sam and *Dean were just exiting *Sam's room when Ripper came running towards them, whining and seeming distressed. "What is it, boy?" *Dean asked as he pet him on the head and scratched the dog behind his ears. The dog kept whining and kinda pointing in the direction of the garage.

"Never pictured you as a dog person." Lucifer said to *Dean, trying to lighten the mood barely standing on his feet, but then the dog turned to him and his weird eyes got weirder as they glowed brighter red than his had in quite a while. He flinched at first, and then smiled and then coughed some blood. "A hell hound? Interesting choice."

*Sam and *Dean exchanged a half worried, half annoyed look, but before any of them could say anything there was a scream just at the end of the hallway. And it screamed in Lucifer's head, like a prayer that sent a jolt of a lightning bolt down Lucifer's spine. He fell to his knees, overpowered by it for a second, and then he was up and running towards the garage.

Both *Sam and *Dean tried to stop him, tried to tell him they needed to see what was happening and make a plan, not charge in blindly, but it must have been the archangel sensation of invincibility that drove him to go in, thinking all it would take was a snap of his fingers and it would all be taken care of. Or was it the fact that his son screamed and that he never wanted to her that painful scream ever again and that he would take the hit if it meant saving Jack? Guess *Dean would never know. But *Lucifer did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Don't you FUCKING DARE!" Lucifer was breathing heavily like he already went a few rounds against an army. He stood in front of Jack, shielding him, glaring darts at *Abaddon and her demons. The demons looked at her and she quirked an eyebrow at them, her expression asking What are you waiting for?

They took another step and Lucifer straightened up, what remained of his wings displayed as a shadow on the wall behind him, his eyes redder than her lipstick. And that 'scary' display of power might have fooled the low level demons, but not the knight of Hell. She knew well, if that was her *Lucifer, her master, there wouldn't be any display of power. There wouldn't be anything left of whoever dared go against him.

So she smiled at his pathetic attempt. "Two for the price of one... Well, I guess that explains your lack of presence. Our little Devil went domestic, settled down, had a... kid..." She said glancing over Lucifer and then Jack, laughing like crazy. She turned towards other demons and some black smoke that lingered in the air and declared "You see it, don't you? The irony of it, the absurdness. Our leader, the all powerful Lucifer... Mingled with the pathetic humans... Procreated... Had this... abomination..." she said looking down at Jack with disgust.

"For your information, Jack was more powerful then you and me combined when he was born. Heck, he could have ended all of you with one snap of his fingers, if he wanted to. He could have rid the world of demons if he wanted to..." Lucifer defended glaring angrily at *Abaddon.

"Oh, yeah? And why didn't he?" She asked raising her eyebrow in amusement, turning her attention to the duo in front of her.

"Who says he didn't?" Lucifer said with an attempt of a smirk, barely keeping himself from coughing up blood again. He clenched his fists and his teeth, summoning up all the straight he had just to remain standing. *Henry was clueless of what was going on, Dean was still out of it, the colt was under a '69 Chevy Camaro and Sam couldn't move. all he could do is watch the charade continue till *Abaddon figures out she still she still has the upper hand. Where the hell is the other *Dean?

"What are you talking about? We are all still here, still alive." *Abaddon looked at Lucifer like he was crazy, but flinched when a deep voice spoke from the hallway door.

"You're only alive because he is not the Lucifer of this world..." *Dean said leaning casually on the doorframe, his arms crossed. Like it was no big deal the standoff that was happening. Like he wasn't in any danger. Like he felt bored and wanted to clear things up as soon as possible so that they could get it over with.

"You see... – he started explaining, as he walked over closer – This Lucifer and this kid... They are from a different world. And believe me, there are many scarier things than you."*Dean said smirking and Sam was confused. Yeah, *Dean came and was now walking around and talking and pointing at something behind his back and talking and giving this big speech of how the Winchesters were awesome in that world and it made no sense to Sam. Oh, right it was a distraction.

*Dean either pointed at his double or at the colt. More likely at the colt. But what about it? His Dean was unconscious, the colt was too far and even if Sam could move, there was no way he could get it without being noticed. What was he supposed to do, will it to his hand?

With eyes wide Sam though O...K... as the colt actually started moving towards him slowly, scraping over the concrete as it moved. And Sam had that familiar feeling, the one he hasn't felt in a decade, the empowering sense that felt so right and at the same time felt so wrong. He could feel the blood running out of his nose, but when he touched just above his lips, there was nothing.

The feeling grew, like a residual echo of something so wrong, at yet so pure and Sam looked up. What was he missing? Dean still out of it on the other side of the room, Lucifer standing in front of Jack, shielding him, *Sam was crouching behind a bike way back, *Dean was pacing around, still talking and *Henry was still... Wait! Sam did a double take, looked back at *Sam and there was genuine surprise and slight concern in his expression. His double had his hand stretched out at the colt, his eyes were focusing on it and damn. There was blood dripping down his lips.

"You really should just pack it up and leave whilst you still can. I am offering you the opportunity to walk away before things get out of hand... For you." *Dean said with an eyebrow raised. He wasn't stupid, he knew *Abaddon wouldn't just walk away. Not when they were sitting on a gold mine of powerful objects and spells. And certainly not after the others pissed her off.

But she actually glared at him. Like she was considering it. He did not expect that. However, what he didn't know was that the minions have told her where their *Lucifer was, who he was now, and when she saw the other Dean in that parking lot, she proved to herself and to her demons it was a lie. But damn it she was so sure she saw that Dean got blasted away in the other direction. And then the guy in front of her started talking about other worlds? Doppelgangers? No, they were just messing with her and it enraged her even more.

It was so convenient *Dean was almost in her face when her expression changed, her opened mouth now turning into a vicious smirk and she placed, no not pushed, place her hand on *Dean's chest and with a pulse of some almost invisible energy he was thrown back right onto that Camero, smashing the roof and the windshield as he landed. At the same moment, something small flew across the room.

It was all in one instant and Sam watched it happen like in a slow-motion. *Dean landed to the car and the colt flew right under it into Sam's hand. The other Dean flinched awake and Lucifer stood before Jack taking the hit of the cloud of demons. Abaddon was yelling and *Sam's hand was extended again at the hurricane of demons that sent Lucifer to the ground.

There was rage in Jack's eyes and Sam blinked and Jack was standing next to the other him, his eyes flickering gold, his hand on *Sam's arm, amplifying the effect. The cloud of demons shrieked and melted in the ground and Dean was running towards him screaming something and he looked down at the gun in his hand. He could feel *Henry fidgeting next to him and how the hell could they move now? But it was all happening at once and there was a lot of yelling and a lot of screaming and *Abaddon was right there, shouting orders to he demons in meat-suits that were charging them all and Sam raised his gun and slowly squeezed the trigger...

What kind of recoil was that? Why did the gun go up towards the ceiling, like Sam purposely aimed it there? And why did someone shout NO in his ear making his headache worse. And why were there two hands on his arm, pulling it up? And why would *Henry stop him from killing *Abaddon?

But he blinked again and there was hell all around. Three demons were punching and kicking Lucifer who was already down, two tried to tackle his Dean. Four of them were on *Sam and Jack, but they were handling them better than Sam ever thought possible. Two more were charging at Sam and *Henry and Sam had a split second to aim the colt at *Abaddon. *Henry tugged at his arm again, and Sam frowned at him. He saw a sad apologetic look on *Henry's face and then *Henry looked at *Abaddon and then Sam knew. If he shot her, if he killed her... He would also kill her... *Josie.

There was no time left. The two demons that were headed their way came quick and died quick by Sam's demon blade, but not before they kicked the gun out of his hands. Dean was handling the other two well, but then the gun slid right at his feet and he looked down. The demons followed suit and he used their stupidity to take them out with an angel blade. It was a version of the old Look-out-behind-you trick and Dean was so glad he reacted in time. But when he bent down to reach for the colt, one foot kicked the gun away, another kicked him in the jaw. Two demons abandoned playing with an almost unconscious Lucifer and went to fight him.

The gun slid across the room to Jack and *Sam, but a demon caught it and sent it in the opposite direction seconds before he was melted out of that body. The gun landed right in *Abaddon's hand as she looked around. Finding what was possibly the biggest threat in the room she took her aim at the figure charging at her.

BANG!

And *Dean stopped dead in his tracks, the entire room went quiet.

And then those emerald greens turned fury red and *Abaddon knew she was screwed.


	19. Chapter 19

BANG!

And *Dean stopped dead in his tracks, the entire room went quiet. As he breathed in and out, slowly, his eyes darting the demon in front of him, he felt the same pain he felt way back then. The exact same spot. He couldn't believe he got shot. By a demon. With a colt. In the exact same spot like before.

Nobody spoke, but he could hear his brother's deep breaths as if *Sam was trying to calm himself down, as if he was trying to convince himself this time will not be like before. *Sam will not lose his brother to *Lucifer. Not this time.

But then those emerald greens turned fury red and *Abaddon knew she was screwed and *Sam closed his eyes, desperately trying to wish it all away. He couldn't go through it again. He couldn't watch his brother being torn apart, his soul splitting in half, down the middle, both halves dying because of it.

The second that bullet hit, *Dean could feel *Lucifer like he was tugging on his sleeve or something, like it was that easy. But then *Dean looked at *Abaddon, she spared a glance to someone behind him. It was almost as if he could differentiate his brother's breathing from everyone else, like there was something inside him that made him different. He knew what he had to do. He knew he had to let go.

"The King... - *Abaddon said eyes wide, filled with wonder and she huffed a maniacal laugh – So it is true... All of it... It was all tr..." she got cut off, *Lucifer grabbing her by her neck and lifting her up. And as he glared at her, his other hand dug into his chest in search of the bullet. He found it, but left it inside, his face grimacing in pain as he pulled his fingers out of the wound.

"That... That explains...Everything... – *Abaddon growled through her tightened throat – You... Just... Couldn't... Let...Him...Be... Better... – and the hand around her throat tightened like it was deliberately trying to stop her from speaking, not trying to kill her – Better... Than... You." She finished with a whisper and got thrown against the big iron gate for her troubles.

She hit the gate hard, the force of *Lucifer's throw far greater than even her own. She could hear bones cracking inside of her and there was some burning sensation in her lungs, but she just spat out some blood and smiled diabolically. "It is all so clear right now... You... You couldn't let him take the throne, lead your armies, be more powerful than you."

"Shut up!" *Lucifer warned and his eyes almost flickered with actual flames from Hell as he threw her up against the ceiling and let the gravity deliver the next blow. Everyone else stood and watched, silently, the remaining demons scared out of their minds, Sam and Dean wary of the entire situation, carefully observing. Lucifer was on the ground, Jack and *Sam by him. Jack pulled him up in a seating position but never stopped darting *Abaddon nor the demons around.

*Sam was... Worried? Confused? Scared? He could have sworn she was looking at him when she said "The King." He could have sworn she was talking about him and every demon in the room glanced fearfully at him. He could have sworn *Lucifer was trying to stop her from talking about it, but at the same time... It was like he wanted a secret to come out. Like relief was within reach.

*Henry's lower lip trembled as he watched *Lucifer using *Josie's body as a punching bag, he so wanted to say something, to protest, to scream NO from the top of his lungs. But he couldn't even let out a sound. Because he knew what it meant, what it all was. God only knew if *Josie was even alive in there; much less will she survive it in the end. There were bigger things at stake then whatever he might be feeling for a woman that might be long gone. So he just gripped Sam's arm tight, trying to anchor himself, trying to silence the Winchester inside of him and let the Man of Letters prevail. For the greater good.

Sam felt the grip on his hand and he felt *Henry almost leaning on him. When he looked at his grandfather, he could see the struggle in his eyes, the fear and sorrow. The despair of a man who would do anything for someone, despite everything, screw the world. He saw that tear in *Henry's eye and he turned his attention to where *Henry was looking at. *Abaddon.

"You can't kill her!" Sam shouted out and they all turned to him. Dean gave him a WTF look and was about to ask why the hell not. *Lucifer looked at Sam but his glance slipped to the man next to him, that sparkle of hope in the man's eyes. "You can't kill her like you killed Kipling." Sam said, knowing *Lucifer would understand what he meant, but also knowing it would stir up some emotions.

*Abaddon was groaning on the floor, half conscious, but slowly coming around. The demons stood frozen in place and *Lucifer was about to say something.

"What did she mean?" *Sam interrupted like no one said a thing in the first place, like he didn't see nor feel that pinch in *Lucifer's chest when Sam mentioned someone named Kipling. "The King? What did she mean?" *Sam repeated the question and stared at his brother. Because, yeah, whether he liked it or not, *Lucifer was his brother and his brother was *Lucifer.

*Lucifer took a deep breath in and sighed heavily, looking down on the ground. He could feel *Abaddon slowly rising behind him, probably wearing that vicious smirk, and with her hair a mess and her lipstick smeared, she must have seemed like an insane maniac, Harley Quinn style. And she started laughing and took a deep breath to start mocking and probably say something that might push *Sam over the edge, not to try and win him over but to try and break the bond between the brothers.

But *Lucifer flipped his wrist with his back still turn away from her and she slammed back into the iron gate, her face twisted in pain. Her breath got cut off, and she slid down the heavy doors, sat on the ground with a thud and lost conscious yet again. *Lucifer didn't even move, he didn't even spare her a glance, his eyes darting the ground the entire time. Only when he heard the thud did he look up, straight into *Sam's eyes.

"It was never about you or anyone else being better than me, taking my throne in Hell. It was always about keeping Hell where it belongs." *Lucifer spoke, two more voices echoing in the back, Latin and Enochian a lot more quieter then the deep English one, so much different, coarse than *Dean's. Like there was centuries of pain and suffering behind it.

*Sam's brows furrowed in confusion, what did all of that have to do with him? Everyone else just stood and listened, not too scared but still intimidated by this version of the fallen angel. And *Lucifer sighed heavily again before he started talking.

"Azazel was one screwed up son of a bitch, even worse than Alistair. His last project was... It would be the end of the world as you know it... He chose a woman, offered her a deal. A deal to be collected in 10 years..." Sam and Dean exchanged looks; they knew where the story was going. But then they both frowned and looked back at the other *Sam. He couldn't be the perfect vessel for the devil when... And they turned their attention back to *Lucifer, curious of the development.

"He gave her newborn kid just a few drops of demon blood, tainting his souls. - *Lucifer said clinching his fists and then looked up at *Sam – Can you imagine what would have happened if he succeeded? If the managed to turn that kid into an actual demon? He gave him just enough power to make him crave for more, and gave him just enough of the damnation for Hell to claim him as his own..."

"A soul, still alive, still pure, demonized, damned without even stepping one foot in Hell... Damned right here on Earth... You know what would have happened?" *Lucifer glared at *Sam, his fists clinched, his jaw shut tight, painful expression on his face.

"Earth would become Hell." Sam stated absently, looking down on the ground deep in his thoughts. And then he brought his gaze up, the look in his eyes gave out comprehension, understanding.

"And I had to stop it. But not the way God wanted me to...He wanted me to end the bloodline, to... Kill the mother. But I knew there was another way... A better way... So I had to show him, again. I had to rebel, again..." *Lucifer said huffing a laugh.

"But this time, He... He chose to listen to what I had to say. And He let me try it my way." *Lucifer finished slowly and looked at his brother. Because yes, *Sam was *Lucifer's brother. Because he fell to protect him. To keep him safe. To direct him on the right path. He sacrificed himself for his *Sammy and he would do it all over again.

And despite everything *Sam took it well. Of course, a part of him already knew why *Lucifer was there, a lot of things did revolve around him, but he never thought... Things couldn't have been so drastic, could they? His powers... They weren't that big of a deal, where they? He wasn't... No, he couldn't have been...

"So that's why you didn't like it when I used my powers, right?" *Sam asked bitting his lip as he raised his head to look back at his brother.

Another sigh. "Yes. It was. I was always worried they would pull you to... – and he rolled his eyes, not coming up with a better way to say it - ...pull you to the dark side. But now... Now I am not so sure..."

"It would have – Sam says with a grin and Dean gives him a stop-meddling-in-things-that-are-not-our-business glare – It would pull you under... Believe me, I know. It is... Was... So intoxicating, I remember it. I remember what it felt like to have that power to just... " and Sam glanced over the scorch marks on the floor next to a bunch of passed out people. Then he raised his look to *Lucifer and it said it all.

"The powers you have aren't evil, they don't make you evil. – Sam said and closed his eyes heavily – it is how you use them that determines that. So... As long as you have a good guide, you'll be alright." He finished moving his eyes from *Lucifer to Dean, and in that instant Dean knew. Sam had finally forgiven himself for listening to Ruby, for killing Lilith. For opening the cage. And it felt so good to see a part of that burden lifted from his brother.

"Yeah, just listen to the Devil, and you can't go wrong." Dean teased, and despite of his bad joke, the room seemed to have brightened in the general mood. Even *Lucifer smiled.

Sam smiled too and then his eyes were drawn to his own Devil, his own internal struggle. Lucifer was still on the ground, now sitting and panting hardly. He was pale and clenching his stomach in pain, leaning against a car door. Jack was by crouching by his side, a steady hand on Lucifer's shoulder, but the kid's attention was drawn to the conversation. And all that just so that he could prove to them he had changed. All of that just to help Sam save his brother.

"Let me prove myself. Let me prove it to you and me." *Sam said his look escaping to glance over at a powerful demon at *Lucifer's feet. And *Lucifer squinted his eyes at *Sam and then glanced at the other Sam. 'Kipling' was a single thought that went through his mind and he too glanced back at *Abaddon. But he closed his eyes heavily, and shook his head, his expression showing that what he was about to say will come hard on both him and *Sam.

"You're not strong enough." *Lucifer said and *Sam nodded.

"I know I'm not. But... – He glanced at Jack, and even though he didn't even know who, or what Jack was he carried on – We helped me before. He helped me channel it, he showed me how. He... He could help me again."

Jack's eyes brightened at the mention of his name and he stood up, his hand still on Lucifer's shoulder telling him he hadn't forgotten about him. But he smiled as brightly and happily with such innocence as only he could have and said "I would love to help." *Lucifer looked at him for a moment, thinking, but eventually nodded. Jack smiled again, but turned his attention to the man at his feet.

"You gonna be ok?" Jack asked frowning, worry in his voice.

To that, Lucifer huffed a laugh "Yeah... Been in worse situations. Go." He growled, his voice coarse. His stomach, his chest hurt like hell and he felt like he could explode at any moment. Never once had it occur to him that it was in fact the rising level of his own grace combined with Michael's that was too much for the cage that was Nick's body and it would tear them both to shreds when it exploded. Or imploded and sucked everything into a dark void. But no biggy.

And for the antagonizing ten minutes, *Sam and Jack tried to pull *Abaddon out of *Josie's body, only managing to pull the demon's wild laughter or the poor woman's desperate cries. Until finally, *Henry cried out. "Stop... Please stop..." Even he knew, *Josie would rather be dead by now and not endure all of this. "Just... Just put her out of her misery." He said with tears in his eyes, violently shaking his head.

*Lucifer too shook his head, his arm lying against the wound on his chest. He picked up the colt that was lying uselessly on the ground now and checked it. One bullet left. Good. He had plans for that bullet.

His attention was drawn back to his brother and his... and Jack and he knew what they were attempting wouldn't work. They were both too weak. He sighed looking over at Sam and raised his brow. Those lava red eyes glared at the version of his brother, seeking approval. "You still think it is a bad idea?"

Sam frowned at him, but then his expression suggested he was reconsidering. "Is what a bad idea?" Dean asked and was ignored. Sam looked at Jack, questions in the kid's innocent eyes. And yes, Jack was still innocent, a kid, despite everything he had been through. And to Sam he will always be nothing more than a kid. He will always feel the need to help him, save him, protect him.

Still, he had to admit, the kid had grown, and to Sam it felt like it happened over night, and he knew the kid was strong enough to endure everything, wise enough to understand, to know right from wrong and compassionate enough to be more human than some humans in the world. Nothing could ever change that. Not even the power he once wielded.

The power that came from... Lucifer. Sam sized up the archangel and was surprised not to find that fear and anger towards him he always felt. Well, not in such high amounts anyway. He could see him in obvious pain, trying so hard just to sit upright and summoning up every ounce of power he could just to stay awake and pay attention to what was happening. But when Sam looked into his eyes, that were looking at Jack at that point, all he could see is pride, and it felt like that the Devil didn't care what happened to him as long as he knew his son would be alright.

With a heavy sigh, just a few seconds after *Lucifer asked for permission, Sam drew a conclusion. Maybe it was a bad idea, maybe it wasn't. But either way it had to be done if they were ever going to end all of this. "IS WHAT A BAD IDEA?!" Dean repeated the question , now slightly pissed nobody was telling him anything. To that, Sam looked up at him, but then turned his view to *Lucifer and simply nodded.

The *Devil smirked "Knew you'd see it my way." It was all he said before he reached into his chest and dove back for that bullet. He pulled it out and opened his now brown eyes seconds before the room was engulfed into bright light.


	20. Chapter 20

Two hours ago, back in Sam's and Dean's world

"You... You said there are no angels there, so no angel blades... No one to help him... No Ruby, no demon blade... – and Sam jolts, his ocean eyes pierce right through *Lucifer's hazel ones – The colt! Do you ... Do I... Damn it, is the colt still functional?"

...

"Hey, I already agreed to go back... And as for Jack...I wasn't planning on kidnapping him or anything if that's what you mean..." And *Lucifer trailed off, for a moment it seem like he was frowning at something, listening in, or maybe having an inner dialog. And then he turned back to Sam, that creepy smile on his, on *Dean's face "But now that you mention it... I did have an idea..."

...

"You can't be serious?! – Sam asked eyes wide – You have no idea what it might do...To you... To him..." Sam watched *Lucifer closely, worry in his eyes that the Devil before him might be a nut job. Sure, it wasn't unheard of; he had seen other angels do it. But this... This seemed just too damn complicated, too many things could go wrong.

"I mean... Not only are you a fallen angel, which means your grace is God knows where..." Sam tried.

"It is locked up inside of me." *Lucifer replied and Sam had to frown at that. How could he be a fallen angel if he still had his grace? When Anna was reborn her grace wound up in a big ass tree... "It was locked up in a big ass tree in my dream land -*Lucifer explained – and then when I.. when *Dean got shot with the colt it split right down to the middle, releasing me... But the grace remained. It is now embedded in a little sprout, since the old oak dried out."

"O...Key... – Sam stretched and then provided another argument – But we have no idea how will your grace interact with..." Sam tried again and was shot down again.

"Biologically, the kid's a Lucifer. Aaaaannd... I am *Lucifer. So it shouldn't be a problem. Grace isn't blood, we are a perfect match cuz we both are... Lucifer."

Sam shook his head still unconvinced. But then he looked back at *Lucifer and sighed when he saw that serious look on his face. He knew he couldn't stop him no matter how much he wanted to, and *Lucifer seemed to know that.

"I won't do it without your consent. I know you don't like it, but... I need to do this. Otherwise, I feel like it was all in vain. Us meeting... – and *Lucifer huffed a laugh – I...I completely fell in love with the kid. And... – one deep breath – He... He is mine. Maybe not really, but he is, I can feel him. And I... I agreed to leave. So, please, let me do this... Let me leave him with a gift that I know without a doubt it would keep him safe... "

To that, Sam shook his head some more, not wanting to cave in, but he knew the Devil had a point. Jack would be safer that way, they all would be... Eventually Sam sighed and finally said "Let's just go and save your brother and mine and then... Then we'll see."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With a heavy sigh, just a few seconds after *Lucifer asked for permission, Sam drew a conclusion. Maybe it was a bad idea, maybe it wasn't. But either way it had to be done if they were ever going to end all of this. "IS WHAT A BAD IDEA?!" Dean repeated the question , now slightly pissed nobody was telling him anything. To that, Sam looked up at him, but then turned his view to *Lucifer and simply nodded.

The *Devil smirked "Knew you'd see it my way." It was all he said before he reached into his chest and dove back for that bullet. He pulled it out and opened his now brown eyes seconds before the room was engulfed into bright light.

And when the light dimmed down, nothing seemed different...Much... Lucifer was still on the ground, half awake. *Sam stood next to *Abaddon staring at his brother, very confused. Jack looked down on his hands and then raised a curious look at *Dean. Even Dean watched *Dean as he dropped the bullet, the bloody metal thing clanged against the floor. Only Sam kept his eyes on Jack.

"What..." Both *Sam and Dean tried, but stopped as soon as they heard Jack say "Why?"

"Consider it a gift, kid." The brown eyes of one *Dean Winchester winked at the nephilim.

"*Dean?" *Sam asked, now sensing something profoundly different about his brother. When *Dean looked at him, and gave him a slight nod to acknowledge it was in fact him, Sam asked, confusion on his face "*Dean? Where is *Lucifer?"

*Dean just shrugged, and Jack was the one to answer "He is now truly reborn... One personality. One mind. – he explains looking up at *Dean and speaking in the kind of tone that suggested he shouldn't know that – There is no more grace in his system...He... *Lucifer gave it all up. All that made him... Him..." There was clear disbelief in his expression as he frowned first at *Dean than at Sam.

"Where..." Dean prompted to ask, but cut himself short. Took him a moment to realize where all that grace went. He looked at Sam, and frowned at him his expression asking him why would he agree to that. But then he looked at Jack, the kid seemed fine.

Lucifer was half awake, his breathing shallow, still sitting and leaning against a car. He felt the surge of his own essence in the air and looked up just as light dimmed and he saw that familiar spark in his son's eyes. He knew what his double has done and it somewhat surprised him he didn't feel jealous. Jealous of the fact that the other *Lucifer had so much more to give to the kid than he could. No, Lucifer was smiling, feeling happy for his son. No one really noticed; he did just look tired, hurt, but deep down Lucifer knew he was dying. And he was at peace with it, especially now, knowing his son will be alright.

Next second, his eyes went wide, he was screaming NO, and with the last ounce of strength he could muster, he teleported right between Jack and *Abaddon, trying to prevent her from lunging herself onto his son.

Jack blinked. And time stopped. He looked around the room only to find everyone frozen in place. Sam and Dean had a slight anger on their faces, frowning and opening their mouths to shout out to him, their eyes fixed on *Abaddon. *Henry seemed to be frozen in a gasp and the other *Sam and *Dean had confused expressions, their heads in the process of turning towards him.

He tilted his head around Lucifer to look at the Queen wannabe and saw her mid air, her hand extended in an arrow shape, pointing at Lucifer stomack or where Jack's chest would be had Lucifer not stepped in. What did she think she would accomplish?

He walked around Lucifer, looking up at him curiously. Now that he was at full strength, he could feel it, he could see it. His father didn't have much time. He made a mental note to end this as soon as possible and when they returned to their world, Jack would use all he had to rip that body, that cage apart. He nodded to himself and looked back at *Abaddon. First things first.

He tried to push Lucifer out of the way by leaning into him and actually pushing, but the Devil wouldn't budge. Then he tried actually pushing *Abaddon mid air, again, no success. He frowned as he stepped around them, now facing the room, *Abaddon to his left, Lucifer to his right and everyone else in the back. He tilted his head again, and seemed to be thinking considering and then... Then it clicked and he smiled widely.

The flick of his index finger and the blink of his eye, *Abaddon was now facing him, and time started up again. Gasps and Nos echoed around the room and Lucifer fell back down on the ground, too weak to even stand up, but there was horror on his face, tears forming in his eyes, worry entangled with his No.

Jack looked down at the arm that was sticking out of his chest, the hand gripping hard around his heart. Jack looked up at the maniacal smile and wide eyes of a Knight of Hell and tilted his head. She was laughing hard, but second by second it toned down as she realized... She definitely wasn't going to win this one.

He smiled a genuine smile, not a devilish smirk, but there was some... intrigue in his eyes, like he was waging, considering wondering if... He was after all the son of Lucifer... He should be able to undo...

Jack narrowed his eyes in concentration as he stared into *Abaddon, his hand grabbing her wrist and pulling her hand out of him with ease, even though she held on tightly to his still beating heart. Fear and confusion flashed over *Abaddon's faced before settling on pure horror as she watched his eyes glow bright gold the warm glow descending down his face like tears, going down his arm, into his hand and then... On her wrist, on her hand, up her arm, through her shoulder straight into her chest and she jerked her head up letting out a painful screech. Her own eyes went demonic dark until the darkness was consumed by the light of Jack's grace. Jack used that exact moment to propel his other hand into *Abaddon's chest.

The soul that was once tainted stumbled out of now weakened body of one *Josie Sands and stood as a ghost of a brunette, face of soft lines, pale skin, ridiculously long hair. The woman looked confusingly on the ground then at her hands as she raised them to her line of sight and then smiled in a kind of relief.

Her eyes looked up at Jack, gratitude in her tears as Jack said "Salome, daughter of Herodias!* Your soul is free of its underworld shackles. Rest in Pease." She smiled at him one more time before she slowly faded away.

When Jack pulled *Abaddon's hand out of his chest and saw, to some a familiar glow in his eyes, they expected him to kill, end, obliviate the Knight of Hell. Some didn't even understand what happened just then, but they all had shocked expressions, moving only their eyes as they followed Jack's movements. He bent over and reached his hand to touch *Josie's forehead.

In the next few seconds, *Josie was grasping for air, *Henry practically flew to her side and Sam and Dean still kept their baffled expressions on now smiling Jack. First one to break the staring was Sam "Jack? Did you just cure a knight of Hell?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, and three more demons cured, Jack was by his father's side. *Henry had taken *Josie to a spare room, out of this world happy she was alive, but worried as hell at her weakened state, even though Jack assured him she will be fine after she gets some rest. But Jack had his own worry. His father wasn't doing all that well, and Jack could see it clearly. The ridiculous amount of grace emanating from his vessel was almost blinding if one was to look at his true form or forms. It was difficult for Jack to see it the two beings inside one, their grace trying to merge one minute only to be attacking one another the next. He knew he had to do something to set them free. But first, he needed to get them home. Get them all home.

After it was all over, *Dean caught Dean's gaze from across the room. So they slowly approached each other, their brother's by their side. Both of them stared at each other for a few moments before they both nodded at each other in some sort of approvement, acceptance. Green eyes took in the brown ones and asked curiously "Did he give away his grace? All of it?"

"I dunno. I guess. - *Dean replied plainly – He, um... He's gone." OK there might have been slight worry in his tone but it is only normal. Carrying the Devil inside oneself can be tiring, and when suddenly he isn't there any more... You wouldn't be relieved he is gone; you would be worried as to when he might return. Or maybe it was the Stockholm syndrome. Either way, *Dean had a feeling he will be seeing those red eyes somewhere along the way.

"Good. Good... Good riddance" Dean said maybe a bit coldly and *Dean squinted his eyes at him for a second before looking away. He was still holding the colt and took that moment to check it again, opening the barrel and winking at it looking at one last bullet inside.

"You lied." He said to *Dean out of the blue, and when he saw the confused look on his doppelganger's face, *Dean explained "You lied about not having a way to stop *Abaddon."

"Um, no, I didn't. – Dean kinda might have started lying again – Your brother over there told me it was useless..."

*Sam frowned, his lips pouting for a moment before he interrupted "I didn't... It wasn't... How was I supposed to know you knew how to make the bullets?" *Sam defended.

"Well, you could have asked." Dean all but stuck his tongue at him.

"All right, all right, settle down you two. Sheesh." Sam calmed them both, surprised by the way his double was acting. Not all that surprised by Dean. "It all worked out. Everyone is safe, we even saved *Josie... Well, Jack... You and Jack did, but still." Sam said looking over at *Dean and receiving a thank-you nod and they both looked back at Jack who was by Lucifer's side, looking worried. Yeah, they still had a archangels-sharing-a-vessel problem to fix.

Neither knew just how serious it had gotten, until Jack declared that Lucifer was in no condition to share grace for the rift. Before they could even consider what he said, Jack continued "I will open the rift myself. Be ready in a few minutes."

"Ooo...Key." Dean stretched the word, his eyes filled with doubt. Is the kid really that powerful now? Again? And then they saw Jack entangling his fingers and then pulling them apart as if he was putting all his efforts to open an elevator door. Yeah, that ain't no damn elevator door – Dean thought to himself when he saw the fabric of space being ripped, a doorway to another world, their world opening up at the will of... Well a child.

However a second later, it was gone and Jack stood in the middle of the room panting hard. He turned to them and when he finally caught his breath he said "I have to open it, cross over and hold it open from the other side." He waisted not a moment before using all his might to open the rift again, jumping in it with the words "HURRY!" echoing through two worlds.

Dean got to it, followed by Sam. Dean turned to look around the garage before setting his eyes to his double. "Take care of this place. And your family." And to that *Dean smiled and simply nodded. He looked down on the weapon in his hand again, thinking and frowning.

With Dean through the rift, Lucifer tried to get up, but his feet weren't quite listening. He was... Surprised is too weak of a word. Shocked? Sam had his hand under his arm, using a lot of strength, really trying to help him up and Lucifer never, ever thought he'd see that happen. It was almost ironic. Last time they were going back home, Sam was the one that pushed him back, trapping him in another world, leaving him behind. And now?

Now he had a big ass frown on his face, but he was actually helping him, and for a second, Lucifer though he was dreaming it, it was too unbelievable. "Hey, Lucifer?!" he heard a voice, *Dean's voice call out to him and with Sam's help he half-turned around.

"You take care of that kid, you hear me?!" *Dean sounded threatening, but there wasn't anything vicious in his eyes.

"I will." Lucifer promised.

"Good. Good." *Dean said nodding and smiling and then he brought the colt up and shot the Devil in the chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Salome was an actual biblical character, allegedly a seducer.
> 
> A/N: Wow, so many things happening here, right? I mean, Jack cured *Abaddon, like really? And then he just goes and opens the rift like it is just a freaking door? And then that cliff-hanger? Wow. Seriously! WTF?
> 
> Oh, and if anyone's wondering about *Dean's brown-hazel eye colour... Well, you take red and green and mix it up... You get the picture.


	21. Chapter 21

Darkness and cold. Everywhere was darkness and it was cold. Quiet. So quiet he should be able to hear his own breaths, but there weren't any. Was he dead? Was this his Hell? He tried to speak, but no sound came out, like his own voice was stuck in his throat. Yup. Definitely his own version of Hell, one made just for him. Dark and cold and quiet.

It only took him a few moments to accept that, because deep down, he knew that was what he deserved. But then there was a small sound, a whimper somewhere distant, and Lucifer finally opened his eyes.

The illusion of the cold quickly dissolved into the heat ten times bigger than he ever felt. The quiet turned into the deafening thunder, lightning bolts casting shadows all around that familiar place. The place he called home for so long. Yup. Positively, 100 percent his own Hell.

But he could hear that whimper between the thunders and he squinted his eyes to the other side of the wast cage. There in the corner, crouching down and with his head buried in his knees, hugging them tightly was a small familiar figure. He frowned as he approached, slowly and carefully, not wanting to appear intimidating and the more closer he got, the louder the whimper was and he could see the figure rocking back and forward, trying to find some comfort in his vessel's memory of the safety of his mother's womb.

"Michael?" Lucifer whispered, hoping he could get his attention, hoping he isn't too far gone. At the sound of his voice, Michael snapped his head up, darting everywhere before his eyes finally met Lucifer's and widened. He just stared at him for a good few minutes, and Lucifer didn't know what to do. He didn't want to provoke the wrong reaction, so he decided he would wait and see what his brother would do, wait for him to make the first move.

"Lucifer? Brother is it really you? Are you really here?" Adam's shaky voice asked, Michael not making a single move.

"'Course it's me... " he replied and bit down on his tongue. The old him wanted to mock 'who would it be? Dad?' The worried part of him wanted to ask 'are you alright?' Some other part of him just wanted to whisper 'I will always be here. For you.'

Michael slowly got to his feet his eyes still focused on Lucifer as he approached and asked warily "It's really you? Not the other one?"

"What other one?" Lucifer asked, uncertain how Michael could even remember the other *Lucifer, he only really saw him that one time just before he broke down. He didn't know Michael saw him, saw them both, right there, in the cage that was their mind. Right after a big part of his grace was siphoned and the vision of Sam Winchester covered in blood danced in front of his eyes.

That scared Michael. One minute he was talking to Sam, disappointed that there was no pearl and then he looked up at *Dean and saw his own reflection in him, he saw all that he was now, complete with Lucifer in his head. And then, the next thing he knew, Sam was bleeding and dying and looking at *Dean with pure fear in his eyes. One blink later, he was in the cage looking at his brother's back blocking his view of *Dean.

He gasped silently as he saw his brother's eyes in *Dean's eyes, but neither man seemed to be interested in him all that much. So he held his head low and just listened to the conversation, the nostalgic tone in *Dean's voice and the guilt in his brother's words.

"Yes. Why do you care? Your brothers and sisters either wanted you in cage or dead... – *Lucifer elaborated, but then huffed a laugh – though I have to admit, at least they cared enough to hate you. My family forgot about me... – he paused, but not wanting to give Lucifer a chance to reply to that, he continued – So why do you care? You do know that when you find a way to separate you from Michael, you will become useless. And add the fact that you're as powerless as I am... You will be discarded by all. Even the Winchesters. Why would anyone want to keep the Devil around?"

Why did he care? Really?

"For a long time I didn't care... Even when I thought no one cared, it was unimportant to me... But spending time with him... – Lucifer glanced back at his brother – in this cage and in the cage out there... I saw how much it hurt him... My actions, my behaviour. And as much as he wanted to kill me... I didn't want to see him hurt."

So he always cared? There was always a part of him that didn't want to hurt his brothers and sisters. And it was true, what he claimed. It was all the Mark's fault. It was all Dad's fault. He gave him the Mark, he let it corrupt him, and then he discarded him. Sent him away, locked him up. And said that if he was ever released he should be killed. And Michael listened? Michael couldn't believe he was that blind.

He sensed more of his grace being siphoned and he let it. Whether it was guilt or regained trust in his brother, he allowed Lucifer to use his grace. He knew he would come back for him after he dealt with the matters outside. And Michael promised himself he was going to make it all right. He was going to make sure Lucifer was reinstated in Heaven and his name cleared. He deserved it after everything he has been through.

"It's not the *Dean Winchester version of you, is it?" Michael replied with a question, sounding just a tad bit relaxed.

Lucifer frowned at that, realizing Michael did in fact know about the other him. Wanting to sound more like himself he waved his hand off , pouted his lips and said "Pffff... Do I look like a smug asshole to you? – and when he saw that smirk on Michael's face he quickly added – Don't answer that!"

They both started laughing and it felt good. It felt familiar. It felt like home. And Michael approached his brother and hugged him tight and Lucifer gasped at that before he clung onto Adam's shirt, closing his eyes and letting one tear escape.

Just then, lightning hit at their feet and they both jumped. Thunder started roaring outside making the cage shake and big red bolts started hitting the floor and the walls of the cage. One particularly big bolt hit the far side wall and it actually crumbled before their eyes. The red flash passed and in Lucifer's mind the image formed. He was staring at the end of the barrel of a really powerful gun and not for the first time.

There they were, nearly a decade ago in Carthage, and Lucifer was following his Father's written word that he will summon Death, and there was a fucking Dean Winchester with the gun to his face. The irony of it. Just as he pulled the trigger, red flashed before Lucifer's eyes and he was back in the cage with Michael. Just in time to pull his brother aside before the lightning hit the spot he was standing.

"Thanks." muttered Michael and another bolt made the floor on that far side crumble. Carefully they both approached it, but backed a step away when the thunder made the cage shake and the floor crumble some more. Leaning in to look down, they stared at the black abyss and the abyss stared back at them. And they were both terrified.

Lucifer pulled Michael of the edge as another bolt hit and Michael said "Thanks. Again." Soon enough, half of the cage has crumbled from the lightning bolts and thunder shakes, and both of them saw where this was going. Well, where they were going. Straight down that abyss.

"I'm sorry. – Michael suddenly said – I am sorry I didn't believe you." Lucifer was frowning at him, not sure what he meant and Michael continued. "When you first said that there was something wrong, that the Mark was changing you... I am sorry I dismissed it, thinking Father knew best and that you were just whining." Few more tremors and three more bolts left only a quarter of the cage. Lucifer opened his mouth to speak but Michael raised his hand to stop him.

"I'm sorry for not... For... For Stull cemetery. You offered me a clear choice, a chance to make my own decision and not follow him blindly. I chose wrong. I chose someone who wasn't there instead of taking your offered hand. Even then, with all that evil still inside you, you... You were willing to forgive me for what I have done. – Michael said looking around the cage – For listening to him and locking you up in here." Lucifer was quiet, his eyes holding Michael's stare of guilt and then he finally smiled.

"We were both different people... Different archangels back then. Then is unimportant. Now is what counts." Lucifer replied with a genuine heart-warming smile standing in a corner of what's left of the cage. Just a few more square feet left. Michael's hopeful eyes saw that smile on Lucifer's face and Michael smiled brightly at his brother second before the floor underneath him crumpled and he slipped down.

Lucifer managed to grab his arm as Michael was falling and was trying hard to pull him back up. "Let me go, brother." Michael said with some strange calm in his voice and Lucifer just shook his head violently, not wanting to let go.

"You need to let me go." Michael repeated.

"NO! – Lucifer's voice shook as he spoke – NO, you'll die."

"You and I both know this isn't about that. This is about you being all alone." And Lucifer caught his brother's calming gaze. "Let me go, brother. I promise I will come back." Lucifer stared at his brother as Michael dangled over the abyss, not wanting to let go. But he knew he had to. So he closed his eyes and let go of his brother's hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam watched eyes wide as the bullet hit Lucifer and he stumbled back as the Devil's body went limp in his arms. He looked up at *Dean, frowning, his expression expressing a very serious WTF before he turned, picked up Lucifer's body and carried him over the rift. Which then closed.

*Sam stood and calmly watched as his brother lowered the gun and huffed a laugh. When *Dean brought his eyes to meet *Sam's gaze, *Sam just smiled and nodded. No one said a thing. Few seconds later they heard footsteps down the hall and a very panicked *Henry ran inside the garage.

He darted around frantically and finally asked "What... What happened? I heard a gun-shot. Where is everyone?"

"Gone. They all went home." *Dean explained and the last word echoed in his head. Home. He looked around the garage, knowing the place from the other world he was in. Yeah this could definitely be a home.

*Dean swung one arm around his brother's shoulders and the other one around his grandfather and as he pulled them towards the war room, he glanced at *Henry and said "Tell me, Pops, how's Nana doing?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What happened?" Dean asked seeing Sam carry the Devil in his arms, Lucifer's chest bleeding. Jack quickly dropped the rift, which promptly closed and ran towards them. Sam barely made it to a random bench that was in their garage and set the Devil there, before slumping to the ground next to him, tired and panting. He did technically carry two people...

"Dad!" Jack shouted when he saw his father passed out, maybe even dead and he ran to him. Dean flinched when he heard Jack's shout, but the slight worry on his face remained. Sam's face was wrapped up in a lot more worry. After all, this was the man... The archangel that saved him, brought him back to life. He helped him save his brother and asked for nothing in return. He knew that Lucifer giving them grace for the rift had nothing to do with needing them to unlock his vessel.

He did it because he could. Because it was the right thing to do.

Jack set his hand on his father's head and closed his eyes, trying to reach him inside, but it only seemed to make things worse. Lucifer started shaking, he looked like he was having a seizure. His hands clenched into fists, knuckles whitening, his breathing erratic, small, cut breaths and big drops of sweat forming on his forehead.

Lucifer gasped and opened his eyes that shone bright blue, but he was still shaking and his breathing slowed down. He closed his eyes for a moment and gasped again before opening them to reveal that all too familiar fury red. He seemed to have chocked on his last breath and slumped down, head falling to the side, his whole body going still.

"Dad!" Jack screamed with tears in his eyes and Lucifer gasped one more time. Opening his eyes, the irises flickered purple before going back to the vessel's natural eye colour and then Lucifer jerked his head back. Bright white-blue smoke vacated his body and he coughed. A few more white sparkles left his system as he coughed them out and took his first deep breath. "'m ok. 'm fine." he said holding his hand up and gathering himself.

When he finally sat up, he had the air knocked out of his lungs by the force of his son's hug and he gasped, eyes wide. He swallowed down hard as he felt some flutter in his chest and he blinked a couple of times before looking at the Winchesters. Dean had a blank expression, but still nodded at him, and Sam... Sam had his hand on Lucifer's shoulder, for support, and he watched him with slight relief in his eyes.

They all flinched and snapped their heads at the sound of fluttering wings. Right there in the middle of the room stood the very much familiar face of an African-American dark-eyed man, smiling widely at them, spreading his hands wide and saying "Lucy, I'm home."

Both Lucifer and Dean chocked and coughed at that and Sam laughed. Jack looked back at Michael smiling and Michael tilted his head and smirked.

"What? I told you I would come back."

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A\N: Did you guys enjoy this ride? Hope you liked the story. Please, leave a review, they feed my ego. LOL
> 
> OH, and I got a new story, posting the first chapter as we speak. It is called Endgame.

**Author's Note:**

> * means it is a double character, from a alternate universe. The Falling Universe.


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